Analytical

When attempting to gather consensus, assuming that silence means consent might not be the best way to get the right outcome. We look at how to be open, respectful and what consensus really requires.

Showing activity is considered by many to be THE critical pre-requisite to managing their teams productivity. What if they're wrong?

The Coronavirus, COVID19, SARS-CoV-2, is the biggest global crisis many generations have faced. Through our increasingly enforced social distancing and isolation, I've witnessed something unexpected that's not what you think.

Whilst Pivot is a more recent terminology often used in the context of a startup, it applies equally to many aspects of our lives, our endeavours or our own groups within companies of all sizes. We look at when, how, why and importantly if you should pivot and what the cost might be if you do.

When you're asked to direct a group of people sometimes you aren't their direct manager. In those cases you're expected to influence without authority. We look at how it's different, why it's hard and how you can go about it.

Steve Jobs once said, the best ideas have to win. We unpack what that actually means in practice and ultimately look at how you can tell what the best idea actually can look like.

When you're delivering a project understanding who the actual owner is or owners are is crucial. We look at how to figure that out, and how to tell projects that can't figure that out.

We dive into why familiarity seems to breed contempt, why first impressions are the most misleading and demonstrate my Latin is terrible.

In every broad discipline it's become impossible for one person to be competent in all aspects. Organisationally speaking, we look at how we could ensure a collective competency is maintained.

There's always something that someone expects you to care about, but the dimensions of care we put our energy into can make or break us.

Looking at how maintenance teams function can reveal a lot about the system they're maintaining. We dive in the consequences of poor design and long term operational costs.

With operational technology relying more and more on desktop computer platforms for control and monitoring, just how much can be put in the cloud safely?

Understanding yourself and self reflection can be good thing, but it can go too far. How far is far enough and how do you know when to stop?

Lists can be a great way of tracking things to do and random thoughts and ideas. But if they're abused they can drag you down into list-hell.

Purpose and Passion are inter-related but in ways that might not be obvious at first glance. We unpack why purpose is critical and how it changes everything.

Some people are obsessed with the tools they use to get the job done. How much better is the best tool vs the right tool and how much time should be spend seeking out the perfect tool for the job?

There are creators, consumers and regurgitators of knowledge and information. Which and you? And why I think you should spend at some of your time creating something.

Risk assessments are a critical part of engineering, but overly sensitive ones can paralyse an organisation. We look at how to make risk assessments useful and how to avoid some of the pitfalls.

What do Vinyl and CDs and Candles and LED Bulbs share in common? We explore the differences between better, and simple nostalgia.

Giving and accepting feedback to and from your manager or direct reports or even your peers is sometimes a missed opportunity. We explore how to make feedback useful again.

Metrics can be very useful if they are carefully chosen. Badly chosen metrics can do more harm than good, so how can you tell the difference?

Teamwork is often thrown around as a concept, but do we each really understand whether we're team players or not? What will you choose?

Have you ever heard the expression, to have the rug pulled out from under you? Life does that to us all and sometimes you can do it to others without realising.

Music can connect us to the emotions of others and ourselves yet so many of us won't give all it has to offer a chance. We explore how it help and why it's amazing.

Effort put into a team effort can steer the end result. If it’s good, that’s great! But what if it’s not?

Meetings can be valuable, but they can also be a huge waste of time. What kind of meetings will you hold?

There never seems to be enough time to get through everything that needs to be done. Or is there actually enough time and you're just looking at it wrong?

Getting perspective is one of those ideas that takes something quite complicated and condenses it into a singular expression. Let's unpack that and get some perspective on getting perspective.

What is downtime really? And just as importantly how about downspace?

Constraints foster creativity apparently. Let's explore how if that's actually true and if the concept can help us.

Is it possible to create something perfect with an unchallengeable criteria, or are you just wasting your time?

How people justify the idea that anything you can do, I can do better is questionable at best.

Are all people, events or places constructively inspirational or are they distractionally inspirational, and how we can tell which to explore.

If someone says that they're about to be honest with you, beyond its overuse as an expression, does that actually mean they're being honest?

When you're trying to get something done, John's Hierarchy of Focus is how I shut out the noise and get things done.

When asked at a self improvement course what Authority meant, the answer they got wasn't what they bargained for.

Winning or losing are concepts taken from games. When you think you've won or lost an opportunity, is it really winning or losing?

Advancement in an organisation isn't a straight-forward thing and there's no one easy answer, but if you want to give yourself the best chance, I have some suggestions.

Teachers and teaching is an undervalued skill set and I try to correct a somewhat dismissive mangled old adage.

Beyond the ad-hominem nature of dismissing another persons ideas because you think they're a jerk, what does this behaviour tell us about ourselves, and who's the actual jerk?

When you're hired by a company the role we end up doing often changes. How do we balance what needs to be done with giving people what they want to do.

Confidence and Competence have a similar outward appearance but there's one sure way to tell them apart.

Analytical opens with a look at goals - personal goals, life goals and how to look at them.