I enjoyed this talk by Tim Minchin earlier this week.
It reminded me of this aspirational graduation speech by Don Berwick last year to a bunch of medics in the US.
And this one by JK Rowling a few years ago, on the benefits of failure.
At one of my daughters graduation ceremonies last year David Downton summed up many of these sentiments quite pithily – arguing for the use of the Andy Warhol mantra of “So what” when things don’t go right.
Tags: behaviour, communication
Further to our last blog…
In both surveys and invite letters we are keen to ensure the language is clear. Do you know the fog index? We find that helpful as a formulae and set of principles. We always like to pilot survey questions to check the meaning we have in asking questions is understood by others. The more international or diverse the group the more important simple text and checking it out becomes.
And also how friendly is your language too? How informal are the words you use? This links to the idea of chatty brands …though there is a balance between naff and natural… endearing and downright irritating.
Happy experimenting – and editing!
Tags: communication
Some say the British are obsessed by class, witness this classic video.
However, in all countries social mobility is an interesting phenomenon to study – and depending on your politics – be concerned for.
With the A level results out in the UK today this heart-warming story from earlier this summer links A levels, university and social mobility- all in a very human and touching way.
If you are in London and at a loss for something to do over the next couple of days, do try to see the tapestries of Grayson Perry. Linked to his three TV programmes last year, they are a contemporary and creative take on class and mobility in modern Britain.
Tags: future
Ways to present information, 3 ideas I have enjoyed recently:
Tags: Presentation
Keeping the watery (and summery) theme of the last blog going, what makes for a great city?
Last year we considered what gives a place a good vibe. I have travelled to lots of cities over the last year. I think there are a few things that stand out in the most special ones, those with a great ‘Feng Shui’ – from UK regional cities to foreign capitals:
1) Great buildings, often with a mix of striking new architectures, as well as some great old designs too – sometimes with supplemented grandeur from the surrounding mountains or forests.
2) A sense of movement in the place, often due to water running through the city (or when on the coast, around it). This movement of water seems to have a positive impact on the flow of people and energy (from the practical use of ferry’s to culture of the city)
We have written before of the useful lesson from good design: function and beauty – something worth considering in product development, workplace creation and event design.
Additionally, I think a truly majestic city is due to a mix of structure and flow: the visible beauty of both the natural and created environment plus the way that water (and people) move through it.
So The Great City can be a metaphor for an event. The agenda, the structure (the stone, the wood) is one thing – we might think of this as the anatomy.
The water is the other – the physiology, the life, the movement, the surprise.
So, thinking of cities with water running through them, (such as London, Sydney, Paris, Cambridge, Amsterdam, Newcastle, Shanghai etc.) we might want to think of how to moderate meetings to bring the agenda to life.
Tags: energy, innovation
I was watching Race for Life in Cambridge yesterday. I enjoy cheering on various family members and friends (plus those doing especially well, dressed creatively or struggling too). It is a moving time watching women of all ages push themselves in memory of people they know or have known.
As I was clapping, a pretty hard looking guy strolled past with a tough looking dog, who proceeded to foul the pavement (the dog, not the guy). With this blog in mind, I wondered what we would do, and what I should think of doing too (see this).
Secondly, a woman went past complaining loudly about charities generally and especially those that raise money on the streets: “I hear they are dreadful and waste most of what you give”. This reminded me of our ideas on Noble Purpose Organisations. My plan before writing the book is to present and test the overall argument in a number of 60-90 minute interactive sessions (complete with stories, concepts and suggested actions) this autumn. Please let me know if you know anyone who might be interested. I will then write this into an article or pamphlet before any book…thanks to those of you who feedback ideas that have informed this route.
And the guy with the dog?…well, he stopped, got a little bag out of his back pocket and picked up the mess. Really times have changed…I find that example very encouraging for making change in our lives, teams and societies. And you?
Tags: hope, organisation
There are many ideas and theories on change – we even manage to profile a selection ourselves.
A couple of things we like are:
1) The saying from Goldratt: Every improvement is a change, but not every change is an improvement
2) Noting that after all the models, there are only two types of organisational change: Type One, where you are ‘merely’ asked to work in fresh ways; and Type Two, where some sort of change effort threatens the on-going offer of that job you need to pay your bills. This video is a great (powerful and fun) illustration of type 2 by Webb and Mitchell.
Social movements have been a bit trendy for about 5-10 years now as a way of thinking about voluntary change in modern organisations and complex systems….however, as this shows, this self-organising, mass approach has a long history…one that pre-dates the 20th Century interest in CHANGE!
Tags: change
I am having a sustainability focused week from
1) Working with a great conservation client – helping them in their mission to protect bio diversity
2) Through an interesting conversation with an education client about promoting sustainability thinking in Higher Education (drawing on ideas from here)
3) Being encouraged by the launch of the B team & now working at a café in London between calls to Australia and meetings in this great city (sustaining myself personally too).
Tags: innovation, sustainability
Whilst the repeated themes in the news may seem remarkably familiar (and downbeat), there are a couple of new things going on down-under:
1) The Guardian newspaper has started an Australian edition – some commentary on that move here.
2) And this piece is from one of the first editions, and demonstrates a powerful way of telling the news online.
Tags: communication, innovation
We like the idea of ‘stealing with pride’.
And know of the importance of measurement.
So, we like these lists of KPIs
that others have used.
Tags: communication
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