Tag: behaviour

Mind the gap?

Think No Comments

Did you notice we didn’t blog last week?

Did it matter?

Do tell us…good or bad ….

[…and for those who are missing something, here is a great talk by David Attenborough we recently attended – launching an important partnership of conservation organisations working to avoid any new ‘gaps’ in the world’s biodiversity.]

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Venn in Action: The Australian Beer Trick

LearningStyles No Comments

This is a blog about healthy eating (and drinking)…both informed by conversations and articles read in Australia earlier this year. Maybe some ideas to SWP (steal with pride)?  You decide.

[Health warning – this might seem a bit surreal after some recent ‘heavy’ topics. But in the words of the film, ‘Notting Hill’, hopefully “Surreal, but nice!”]

One thing I am finding helpful is what I call the 4:3 nutrition rule…not the 2 day a week fasting diet fad. Nor the ‘no booze during the week’ mantra. Rather, thinking of a few things to avoid Monday to Thursday…such as wheat products (bread and beer). Seems to work really well for fine tuning the balance between exercise and ingestion.

One thing that has wheat in it, is beer. I play drums in a band. I like drinking beer when gigging. I drum up quite a thirst – literally, but don’t want too much beer (alcohol and calories that is – the fluid is ok). A leading Australian educationalist shared with me the idea of diluting beer with soda water…a tip I find very useful. See what you (or someone you know who likes beer) makes of what I call The Oz Beer Trick. It works on the basis of the boiling frog analogy – how we don’t really notice subtle changes going on around us. It works with cocktails too – and I think I can use with wine if I am careful.

So what is it and how does it work?

1) Order a pint of soda or sparkling water with your beer (soda water is free in most pubs in the UK).

2) As you drink the beer top up the glass with soda every couple of mouthfuls.

3) The Beer gets progressively weaker, but in a way that you don’t really notice.

4) You end up having what feels like 2 pints of beer, but is in fact one.

5) You get to just over 1% alcohol, but don’t really notice the weaker taste…the impact is still there, it is almost homeopathic.

If you want a bit more on the maths behind this, let me know and I will share a spread sheet!

Ps

And why “Venn in Action”? – two reasons

1) The band and beer angle of the main text

2) And I am in Australia at the moment – and have a band practice next Monday when home – but sans beer (as it is a Monday : ))

Pps

For those who like Venn thinking – you will love this.

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Recruiting for values…????

Teams No Comments

One of the truisms I hear a lot at the moment is about the importance of recruiting for values – be that in the NHS, post Francis inquiry, or even a leading men’s fashion shop in Cambridge that always fields a brilliant team of staff runners in the annual Chariots of Fire race! We agree with that focus, as per the 5th level in our values model: integrating desired behaviours into the choices about who is hired, let go, disciplined, rewarded.

We see how many organisations,who are now aware, recruit for aptitude and tend to fire for attitude – this is a huge motivator for getting selection right. However, we do note, there tends to be a bit less interest amongst senior leaders to develop the trust and systems for honest feedback – feedback that is at the heart of work to get the most important thing right: leaders themselves modelling the desired behaviours (level 4 in our framework).

For example, I do wonder how the NHS would be different if those at the top did model a passionate commitment to safety and compassion – and not just financial balance targets (which, by the way I think are important – the 4 hour trolley wait standard has served people I have been attending well, during my A&E visits over the last couple of years…and overspending is never a good idea).

Maybe the reason leaders in many industries like the focus on level 5 is it is about ‘them’, ‘the others’.  Level 4 and Level 5 are a winning combination….but if I could only have one it would be 4, not 5.  Like curiosity, if you get the level 4 going then rest falls into place.

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A stone roof…

LearningStyles, Reflect No Comments

So, if a slate roof needs a pitch of 33 degrees, a stone roof must have one of 45 degrees or more. The irregularities of the surface increase friction and the risk of leaks into a home at lower angles.

Flat roofs in contrast need a smoothness, slight tilt and large drains to reduce the risk

So, why this interest in roof design…do email if you think you know. More from us next time?

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A slate roof…

LearningStyles, Reflect No Comments

In Manchester, according to the novelist Jeanette Winterson (in “Why be Happy when you can be normal” – a joyous, sad read ) slate roofs on two up two down terraces are built at 33 degrees – to get the optimum balance for steady draining and no external or internal water damage that happens if the gradient is too great and the water cascades down the roof in a torrent too fast for the gutters to handle.

Why the attention to roofs…read on…

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What is a Roof for?

LearningStyles, Reflect No Comments

Roofs are obviously to keep water out, but also to channel the draining water at a measurable pace.  Too fast and it might overflow the guttering causing damage. Too slow and it might seep in.

To be continued…..

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TPS Curiosity #179

Think No Comments

Another phrase I hear a lot of in Australia, is one I am familiar with in the UK too,  from the work of Chris Collision and others:  The Tall Poppy Syndrome.

Curiosity in action takes us here – an interesting read.

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Do you walk with a limp?

Reflect No Comments

A phrase I heard recently In Australia…

“Never trust a leader who hasn’t walked with a limp”

Researching it, it seems to have a spiritual route. However, I heard something similar said of Tony Blair: a leader who had never encountered personal hard times (prior to Iraq possibly), unlike Gordon Brown and David Cameron in their family lives.

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IDK for SWP

Personal productivity No Comments

The most important three words in learning? IDK…

I was in a meeting recently and a client mentioned the word ‘andragogy’. The others nodded wisely.

What should I do?  I am sorry, “I don’t know what that means”.

IDK- I don’t know…or I demonstrate C(k)uriosity!

And the most important action that can follow a spurt of curiousness?…SWP…

An education client said they had nicked the ideas of being ‘first to be second’ from a US oil company.

SWP – steal with pride…

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OOO again

Personal productivity No Comments

Given it is that time of year (in the Northern hemisphere, at least), you might like this old blog on the theme of OOO messages:

Spurred to share by this message (received after our latest Business Briefing): “I have noticed a recent trend for witty, urbane and often beguilingly personal out-of-office messages. This is not one of those, but please do contact xxxx with any urgent matters while I am on leave. I return to work on 13 August at which point I will see your email.” – which we liked a lot.

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