psychology
Agile – A change in methodology or something much deeper and altogether more challenging?
I’ve just spoken at an excellent conference on project management in KL. There were some truly interesting seminars on project recovery, risk, the danger of optimism in projects, and of course Agile. It is extraordinary what sort of reaction this topic generates amongst proven, seasoned project management professionals and the range was certainly on display at the conference. I saw everything there from fear and loathing, to contemptuous dismissal, to […]
How Circumspect Should Quantitative Forecasters Be?
Originally posted on Dart-Throwing Chimp:
Yesterday, I participated in a panel discussion on the use of technology to prevent and document mass atrocities as part of an event at American University’s Washington College of Law to commemorate the Rwandan genocide.* In my prepared remarks, I talked about the atrocities early-warning system I’m helping build for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Center for the Prevention of Genocide. The chief outputs of…
Are we always going to spend countless hours on planes to get to sit in meeting rooms with colleagues?
This morning, as I sit on yet another flight, this time from Singapore to Hong Kong, it’s ever more apparent to me that far from video conferencing and other forms of communication taking the place of international travel, planes are fuller than ever with business travellers flying short distances for a schedule of meetings, which from my own straw poll over the past 18 months, are mostly internal to their […]
Mindfulness in the Age of Complexity
Mindfulness in the Age of Complexity. Very interesting if slightly longer than necessary article around the relatively new concept of ‘mindfulness’. You will find some good nuggets in here…just might require a little digging!
Telling the truth or giving a public opinion…a political minefield!
With apologies for a slightly introverted blog, I wanted to raise an interesting issue which has been raised by three people this week who’ve somehow stumbled upon this random collection of thoughts and ideas in the last week. It appears that what people like most about this blog is the candour and openness of the commentary. Why is it so difficult these days to give an honest opinion without fear […]
Why do we let people who are fantastic at attracting votes run complex financially driven ‘corporations’?
As the referendum for Scottish independence draws closer, the crass opportunism and incompetence of those who are supposedly in charge of our economies becomes more and more apparent. I’m drawn to an analogy in the corporate world…would we let someone trained in the dark arts of public relations take the role of a CEO / CFO / COO? Would we let someone who was an excellent after dinner speaker take control […]
Working from home….management’s last bastion of control
The nature of the office workplace has changed almost beyond recognition in the last 30 years. The pace of change in terms of activity, responsibility, speed of communication, access to information and people, and complexity of the ‘transaction’ whatever the company might be engaged in, are all vastly different. Gone are vast numbers of manual tasks and with them activities and roles in the workplace. What is required these days […]
Rights and obligations in the corporate world
I’ve been on a few flights this week and beyond catching up with my favourite shows on the BBC iPlayer (!), the article penned by Malcolm Henry which I reposted last week, seems to be having a disturbing effect on me! Malcolm was describing the debate in Scotland as to the establishment of a bill of rights and his proposition that a bill of obligations would be much more powerful. […]
The only thing that matters in running a consultancy
As I reached an interesting milestone in the build of my consultancy in Asia last month, I had a moment to think about what it was that I was actually in control of. Not the stuff that you tell your shareholders, or your boss, or your colleagues or indeed your husband / wife…but the reality. And it struck me in a second of starting simplicity. The only thing I can […]
The 5 questions which turn Selling into Consulting.
The 5 questions which turn Selling into Consulting.. I was referred to Michael following the recent piece on SME to Consulting. Really good blog which gets to the heart of the selling issue for consultants.
Communications…how and why we continue to get it wrong!
Three truths about communication which are accepted by most: Non-verbal communication constitutes 70-80% of the message (tone and body language to be precise). Human beings are extraordinarily good at perceiving that which is authentic and that which is not. Leaders lead through the power of their communication capability. Every project manager I’ve ever met, when asked about the core skill required that distinguishes the average from the exceptional in their […]
The messy business of retention in merger integration projects
I suspect that the phrase most often heard and rarely delivered against in the transactions world is ‘people are our most important asset‘. It’s right up there with ‘there’s a natural cultural fit between our two companies‘ and ‘this acquisition will be earnings accretive in x years’! Why does the tendency to make statements based on zero knowledge and little chance of delivery continue in a market situation which has […]
Incredible presentation from a great speaker
I’ve followed Rory Sutherland on TED for a long time. He has always been an advocate of behavioural economics but in this latest piece explores the lack of a ‘framework’ which has held psychology back unlike other subjects which straddle academia and the corporate world.
Music training boosts IQ
Originally posted on BRAIN'S IDEA:
There are more and more brain training companies popping up which promise the same deal: improved intelligence. While there are doubts about their results, another sort of brain training has existed since the beginning of humanity: music. The evidence for its effectiveness is surprisingly strong. . Brain training in the 1930’s. . Over the years, researchers have noticed that people who have taken music…
The milestone or is it millstone of entering ones second half
Since my earliest days as a consultant, probably as some kind of unfulfilled legacy from my days as a headhunter, I have had certain types of ‘conversations’ with men and women of my age. Sometimes these are driven by an event such as redundancy or a cross road in terms of career, or a sense of lack of direction…which may be driving loss of productivity and motivation. I was struck […]
Why do we like sad Music?
Originally posted on BRAIN'S IDEA:
. But I’m a creep. I’m a weirdo. What the hell am I doing here? I don’t belong here. Why would anyone want to listen to this? Radiohead’s song Creep is not the exception in being a heartbreaking but nonetheless successful song. According to Wikipedia , of the ten best-selling music singles ever several are clearly sad songs: Elton John’s Candle in the…
The Quiet Contemplation of Inactivity
The Quiet Contemplation of Inactivity. Maybe it’s my age but there is so much in this that rings true for me…it’s brilliant and nostalgic, all in one!
The Personal Myth
Originally posted on People-triggers:
“It ain’t so much the things we don’t know that get us into trouble, it’s the things we do know that just ain’t so.” —Mark Twain Some (very reputable) psychologists are absolutely convinced that DNA is destiny. Other (very reputable) psychologists are convinced that your personality is shaped by what happens to you as an infant – or perhaps even in the first few minutes of…
Inarticulate ramblings of a management consultant 