2010

What’s your map of the world?

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The Ebstorf map has been recreated and is on display:

We know that maps of the globe are always incomplete visions of reality.  The different projections of the world owe as much to psychology as geography.

This difference has been picked up playfully time and time again over recent years, often at the expense of the powerful.  

How we see the features in our immediate world is often about projections of our hopes and fears onto other possessions, places and people.  Schumacher encourages us to question how we make our ‘philosophical maps’.

In what ways could you redraw your assumptions and reveal some blind spots today?

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Ash cloud – what’s your reaction?

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Well the ash cloud is interrupting flights again. We are struck by the many alternative responses that people give to this:

– compassion for the shattered dreams of those wishing to travel (an important business meeting delayed, a postponed wedding, a funeral missed, a much needed holiday lost)

– delight at the reduction in carbon emissions from grounded jets

– awe at our human futility in the face of natural wonder

– anger at “health and safety gone mad”

– frustration at our collective impotence reinforced and our insignificance historically as well as environmentally

– worry at where this will end if other volcanoes erupt.

 What’s your reaction? Which is the one that is most helpful do you think?

When something frustrating happens today, try to see as many different ways of looking at it as you can.  What are the hypotheses that might make that behaviour of a colleague frustrating?  What are you finding difficult in that meeting?

You might find you can change your reaction.

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Take time to get the picture

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PowerPoint often gets a bad press as a medium for communication. The Metro newspaper, for example, suggests that army generals are resisting being presented with graphics like the one below (taken from a report on stability in Afghanistan).

mindmap1

It’s an interesting example of why not to take the headline at face value and the impact of the author’s prejudgments on the tone of the piece:

  • the graphic almost certainly wasn’t created in PowerPoint
  • there are no bullet points
  • take a second and you discover that it tells you a lot quite quickly (eg they think there are 11 big factors affecting the situation, you can see what those are and get a sense of how they fit together).

In fact, this is an example of a systems map. Even for those not involved in creating it or trained in systems modelling, this sort of graphic can be useful in informing and stimulating thinking.

It only needs us to take a few moments to look properly at something to start seeing what’s really there.

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The new leper’s bell

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The iconic image of people from the Far East wearing face masks at this time of colds and flu is made noticeable by the media and stands out on streets in the UK. 

But what is it about?  Having studied this in crowds in Hong Kong, it is clear that most are worn by people who are coughing and spluttering (as in this photo on Star Ferry). 

face mask

A bit like a modern leper’s bell.  Like a special badge to say “I will not shake your hand (or air kiss) – I have a cold!”

The lesson?  Beware of projecting assumptions from our neurosis onto others.  And take responsibility for our issues.

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Touch it, feel it

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People like to get their hands on things. It’s why you see so many “do not touch” signs in shops. It’s why my children walked up to an Andy Warhol exhibit in a New York museum, fingers ready to jab (until restrained by dad to the relief of wide-eyed curators).

elephants

We are tactile creatures. It’s a big part of how we understand our surroundings, how we sense the world, how we relate to things and to each other.

These elephants in Trafalgar Square are some of 250 in London at the moment. Each decorated by a different artist or celebrity, the aim is to raise money to safeguard elephant populations worldwide.

Everyone wants to stroke them, to make contact with them. The models bring the cause to life.

Maybe you have a project or an idea that you want people to understand, to connect with or get behind? Why not make a model of it, a sculpture or some sort of object?

Bring your cause to life and see how people react.

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Be careful who you lend your brand to

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BP

First, the Texas oil refinery disaster.  Now the Gulf of Mexico.  BP’s brand risks freefall. 

Before the merger with Amoco, BP was renowned for its progress with safety and ethics.  Its late ’90s approach to managing corporate memory and knowledge was world-leading.

Now, we see how easily culture can move (for worse, as well as better).  And the risk that takeovers have for the parent company. 

The wider lesson?  Who do you give your personal brand to?  What might a poorly managed alliance do to you, your team or your organisation?

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The new Istanbul?

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hong kong

 

Where East meets West. 

Is Hong Kong the 21st Century Istanbul?

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Join the climate debate

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How much do you know about climate science?

Interested in learning more?

If you are, here are some perspectives on the different schools of thought around the issues.

We first did this work a couple of years ago and have continued to use it our teaching on thinking about the future. 

It seems to resonate.

We hope it helps you join the debate.

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Get help with the puzzle

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The clue for 16 down in the crossword was “Old man’s weapon that’s needed to get into base”. Eight letters.

I’d thought hard about this for quite a time but couldn’t get the answer.

Then my wife took a look and saw it straight away.

It helps to have someone else take a fresh look at your problems. They see things differently and bring their own ideas and possible solutions.

If you struggling with a challenge at work, why not ask a colleague today to have a look at it with you? It might help you solve the puzzle.

“Password”

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Heart-warming and helpful

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Two links to inspire.

One, Heart-warming.

 The other, Helpful?

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