So many people are telling me that they don’t know what’s going to happen. Uncertain times. “Who knows how this will all land? Need to keep our options open.”

Here’s an analogy.

Imagine a race. A race where the prize is big. The winning rider will be made for life. The trainer hailed a hero. Trouble is, there is no course. No nearby rails, no next  jump. Not only that, you cannot see the final furlong nor the finishing line. Read More

Get this development technique right and your skills will move forward very fast indeed.

Get this wrong and you’ll be wasting a lot of time, and probably the time of others.

Some quick pointers will hopefully set you on the right road: Read More

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The enemy of change is perceived certainty.

Certainty is created by beliefs, though beliefs are usually disputable.

No doubt believe that the world is round. Of course you are wrong in that belief. It’s not quite round, its more like spherical, and probably a little lop-sided with lots of bumps and holes. In fact, those holes are pretty huge when you look at them, because at the quantum level, most of matter is invisible, as yet undetectable dark matter. Indeed, particles from outer space pass right through the earth all the time as it it wasn’t even there. Maybe it isn’t!

That may seem a little extreme, but it just illustrates that Read More

Last week in Early Warning: A Political Storm is Brewing I rashly suggested that I could weigh up an organisational setting and estimate its survival prospects. It's not a precise science (what science is?) but you can do it too if you know how. To whet your appetite and ruffle a few feathers, here is a fun little game you can play at your team meeting that will provide a huge amount of vital intelligence that will shine a light, your light, on the prospects for the enterprise to survive the next 12 months. Read More

Here is a clarion call for an independent mind, your mind.

Have you noticed how powerful scientists seem to have become? Or rather, how powerful they appear to be? So much depends on my 4th Principle of Power: Perception and Reality. Let me explain.

He who pays the piper, calls the tune.

Maybe I don’t know much about science and statistics, but I do know an awful lot about power and influence. While not wishing to fight for any side in the calamity we find ourselves in, I find myself compelled Read More

Last week I have a chat with an acquaintance. Well no, not a chat, I got talked to.

He got on his hobby horse on some topic that I was not particularly interested in, knew more about than he did, but he had me trapped.

Without wanting to be rude of impolitic I humoured him. Nodded and offered the occasional contribution to try to move things on a bit.

Afterwards, once I’d escaped I was frustrated. Annoyed Read More

Listen to them but don’t necessarily take their advice or agree with their analysis.

The problem with most experts is threefold.

Firstly, their skill and expertise has been built in the old world, before the big pause. What used to work may no longer work. The new rules fly in the face of the old rules. Therefore, in many cases (not all) the very foundation of their expertise has evaporated.

Secondly, their Read More

A time of disruption and change, and I’m curious, how are you getting on?

Whatever your status in the global lockdown, one thing is sure - the end will not be distinct. It’s not going to be like a project reaching its big deliverable, or a milestone being reached. You know, the kind of event that enlightened professionals would say, “Okay, what have we learned?”

To avoid the risk that you will not consolidate your learning and extract the benefit from this period, let me ask you: Read More

Most mid-level professionals in large organisations today naively rail against the politics.

They consider it harmful, a waste of time, and something perpetuated by self-serving and unscrupulous individuals.

Sadly, you quite often see only what you expect to see, and this short-sighted perspective is career-limiting.

Back in 2008 I Read More