Cool Story Bro. I’m feeling mildly guilty at the moment. I might have been a little bit over sceptical and grumpily dismissive of the heartwarming stories told at conference. I know, I sound like a cold-blooded reptile, but I’ll let you decide. For the after lunch slot two highly respected leaders took to the stage […]
Decision Fatigue. How to cope with 35,000 decisions a day by wearing the same clothes
Dyfrig Williams modelling the latest in Anti Decision Fatigue clothing -‘a strong look’ I’m scenario planning at the moment. Please reflect upon this situation. I walk into the office and someone says, “Chris, you filthy minger(*), that’s the same clothes you’ve been wearing for the last 5 days, you smell like a Pole Cat”. My […]
Cycling to Work, ‘it’s just what we do…’ could Social Practice Theory help?
Why don’t more people cycle? Here’s a small experiment you can try. Introduce ‘what can we do to encourage cycling to work’ into a conversation. Wait and see how long it takes before someone mentions, ‘The Dutch’. Less than 5 mins I’d wager. Depending on which bit of the internet you believe, 25% of all trips […]
Decision Making. Do you have, Inattentional Blindness, Search Satisfaction and miss the Gorilla?
A Question: In a typical workplace situation, what percentage of information available do you scan (use) to make decisions? Please use the scale below to indicate your answer: Your Answer? In the range 60-70% of available information? Up to 75%? (I’m a logical and rational person) MORE than 75%? (I deal in the evidence!) The […]
Speaking Moth. How (not) to Prepare for a Performance Review
This is a brilliantly weird story I heard last week. Thank you to Andy Middleton from TYF for letting me share it. Saturday Night at the Pub. Picture saturday night in an Australian Outback mining settlement, a good few years ago. At the local (only) Pub is a younger Andy, sampling the hospitality. As the […]
Duck or Rabbit, the Evidence! (based on perception and bias)
Can you see the Rabbit and the Duck? Try turning the screen through 90 degrees – then back again. Right, fun over, back to the serious stuff. Hands up if you hear this phrase, chanted out at just about every meeting you attend nowadays. It’s a new mantra that started creeping into widespread use about […]
Co-Working and Serendipity. It’s just like having Tapas with Strangers
This is a post about co-working, however let me start with something I learnt over the weekend, an essential for your etiquette handbook. When asked; “are you visiting Aberystwyth for anything special?”, DO NOT REPLY WITH, “We’re here to bury my Mother in Law’s Ashes”. It’s a bit of a conversation killer, stuns hotel receptionists […]
The Listening Boss Starter Pack: Speaking Truth to Power Part3.
How about this, something practical to help overcome the ‘speaking truth to power’ problem: The Listening Boss Starter Pack; A picture of General Custer to hang on the wall, A Jesters Hat, A Trojan Horse paper weight / desk ornament, and A Darth Vader Lego Character (we all like a bit of fun). You receive […]
Speaking Truth to Power Pt2. Messengers: Sycophants, Axe Grinders and The Brave
Cassandra. She knew the truth but was never listened to… Stop for a moment and think about this question. “What happens to the people who give bad news, or tell an unwelcome truth to the people in charge?” [PAUSE] Now think about the question in relation to all of the books you’ve read, all of […]
The Listening Service. Busting Jargon, Including People and Improving the Tweets
The Party Blower An effective Jargon Buster As used by Barod CIC I go to lots of conferences and seminars. The result of this, (apart from the addiction to buffet food) is that I now speak a different language – ‘Jargy Jargy’ or Jargon, “the specialist language for a specific activity or group of people” (I’ve […]
What's the PONT 