I’ve previously said—frequently—that moving away from black and white, or binary, thinking is generally a very positive thing. I previously gave examples of this in predicting the future, subversion, elections, … Continue reading When it’s okay to use black and white thinking
Previously I’ve said that digging into the reasons behind certain statements, and asking why, helps us understand problems better. But it’s also personally fulfilling and rewarding. I was reminded of … Continue reading Asking why builds better relationships
The other week I was on a train going across the country, and while it was stopped at a station the train manager made an announcement. “I realise this is … Continue reading Ensure degrees of success
A little while ago I was discussing with a chief executive the key characteristics of being a great CTO. One of the qualities I mentioned—which I’d observed in many effective … Continue reading Divisions at the top create wider divisions further down
The other day I was at an Underground station where there were a number of charity collectors with buckets. I put a coin in a collector’s bucket and he gave … Continue reading Make good work visible
I’ve said before that the word “maturity” raises my hackles, and in particular when people talk about their organisation needing to be “mature”. This is not the only word that … Continue reading What does it mean to be a mature organisation?
It’s slightly egocentric to look at someone doing their job and imagine yourself doing it instead, and it’s naive to look at the work of world leaders and declare that … Continue reading Take people with you
