In a past episode of his podcast Making Sense, Sam Harris talked to author and NY Times columnist David Brooks about his book The Road to Character. The episode was titled ‘On Becoming a Better Person’* and my ears perked up when it landed on promises. David commented, Self-improvement is part of being an...
On a Thursday evening in April 2020 the sounds of banging pots and pans, claps and cheers echoed around empty streets across the United Kingdom. On doorsteps and leaning out windows people acknowledged the health workers and others on the frontlines of the pandemic. Recognising that by doing their jobs,...
Choices are chances. Go this way or that. Do this, not that. On repeat, hundreds of daily moments where your actions say, ‘this is who I am’. Intrinsic to work. They get shaped by the processes, policies and protocols powering every enterprise. And in the rumble of the everyday doing, become...
I’m not one for grand announcements. I’d rather do the work and write about the ideas, not myself. But starting next issue, I’m changing the name of these articles and thought you might wonder—what the heck? Rewind a year. Something niggled. A twinge that became an uneasy question. What if my...
“I have to believe in the place where I work.” Bam. There it was. In a neatly turned nutshell, my client had revealed how to improve a culture. Not motivate me with a world-changing mission. Not inspire me to great feats or pay me a gazillion dollars. Simply show me I...
There’s a not-so-subtle warning woven into work around culture. That you need a citadel to protect you from plundering outsiders. The word “citadel” was first used in English in the 14th century. Referring to the fortified towers and walls that protected mediaeval towns and were a refuge for civilians in the...
There are 5 people in front of a whiteboard waiting to work on their values. And I’m talking about Roger Federer. Fed was back on centre court last week for the opening festivities at the Australian Open. And as he parried shot, after shot, after shot back to Hewitt and Rafter, thousands...
Early in his career, actor Tom Hanks was interning for a repertory company when the director gifted him 3 rules. He recounts how during morning rehearsal some of the professional cast were missing their cues, slurring their lines and generally messing up, after over-celebrating opening night. Reaching the limits of his patience,...
I’m an equal opportunity book lover. I buy them and borrow them from the library, getting a jolt of joy from every text message telling me a reserved title has landed! So, it’s always a bit daunting to mine a handful of gems to share. Thankfully (and annoyingly) I score them...
I’m a bit late to this particular party, but it’s taken me a while to work through how I feel about AI. And it’s a mixed bag. I can’t ignore the Jenga tower of inherent bias, serious flaws, and the very shaky financial shell game the whole thing is built on—where it seems the...