GIRL TEACHES DAD A LESSON

Emmanuel Gobillot, writing in the Engineering Management journal of the IET, describes how paying his daughter to clean her room backfired when after a while she declared that it just wasn't worth it. Here is an example of an economic incentive destroying moral and social obligation.

DARK BUSINESS

...and on the subject of physics as a metaphor for organisations (or maybe the other way around), Dave Snowden suggests that just as Dark Matter accounts for most of the Universe, so invisibles account for most of an organisation. Thanks to Johnnie Moore for this one.

I wonder if the sub-conscious is another example of the subtle unseen supporting tangible, gross manifestation?

UNCERTAIN ABOUT HEISENBERG

Yesterday I used improv to do some team coaching. The directors had said they wanted to observe. I didn't give them the chance and involved them before they knew what was happening. I'm pretty sure their non-participation and observation would have changed things for the others. I thought this reflected Heisenberg's principle, but apparently it's the 'Observer Effect'.

IT AIN'T ROCKET SCIENCE

Gerry Robinson sorting out Rotherham hospital made compulsive viewing last night. The sight of the Chief Exec realising that talking to people works is both uplifting and depressing. Does a senior manager have to wait til his 50s to get it? Overall the programme tells me that the NHS can be turned around... but not through processes, strategies and metrics, or even rocket science. Rather, people, people and people.

and another thing - Gerry doesn't just think, he clearly feels too...

GOD AND THE DEVIL

This may be an old one but I like it - thanks to Johnnie Moore

God created the truth. The Devil took a look at it and said, "That's great,
I shall organise that and call it... religion"

TRY MORE - WANT LESS

After a 5 month blog silence, time to tap the keys again.

My objective this year - and hopefully for years to come is to try more and want less. Now that might sound contradictory - it certainly does to me - so let me try to explain...
By trying more I don't mean trying harder, I mean trying different things. And by wanting less I mean being less attached to the outcomes. The reason for this shift is that I've become aware that wanting stuff to happen doesn't necessarily mean it will (excuse me if you got there a few decades ago - everyone at their own pace). When it does...fantastic. When it doesn't...depressing. The swinging around between these polarities (the onset of Bipolar disorder?) really isn't much fun - in fact it's draining, so I'm going to do less of it.