It is far more important to work on a to be list before a to-do list. Aidan McCullen Blog.
The consultation, the strategy and the sign off are all important parts of the process, but the real change only happens when the rubber hits the road. If you spend all your budget on the script, the expert opinions and the cast and skimp on the execution you fall prey to what I call “The Predator Effect”. Execution without strategy is better than strategy without execution. We learn from execution, what works and equally, if not more valid, what doesn’t work.
“Rationalizations and the incessant search for scapegoats are the psychological cataracts that blind us to […]
What is the curtain twitcher effect? Mimetic desire in change initiatives.
When we refer to the miraculous metamorphosis of the caterpillar into the butterfly, we often use the words “Chrysalis” and “Cocoon” interchangeably. However, they do not describe the same thing. In my book “Undisruptable”, I detail some of the similarities of the transformation of the caterpillar and the transformation of organisations and individuals alike. For this Thursday Thought, I’d like to zoom in on one specific element of this transformation: the difference between “Chrysalis” and “Cocoon”, an element I removed from the book in a bid to make it shorter.
While psychological safety is the foundation for a functional work environment, there is still an onus on us to have the courage to speak up. Leaders can encourage this behaviour by listening without judgement, allocating time to hear what their people have to say and having some mechanism in place to take action based on what people share. While the organisation and leadership have a major role to play in setting the stage, it ultimately comes down to us as individuals. Will we stand up and have courage? Will we speak up when it matters most?
when organisations outsource their future to consultants they are depriving themselves of their future. The start of any learning curve is steep and characterised by setbacks, obstacles and failures, but that is how we learn best. (That goes for children too.)
We are approaching such a paradigm shift in the workplace, but we still have a long way to go. Just as white actors playing the roles of black actors and men playing the roles of women seems preposterous today, I believe, in time, we will consider some of our modern-day work practices absurd. This Thursday Thought highlights the need to consider the female menstrual cycle in a paradigmatic shift in work practices.
The legend of Orpheus and Eurydice is a story of love, faith and transformation. It provides a wonderful analogy for letting go of the past and having faith in the future.
To transform we must let go of the way things used to be. Yes, we must respect the old order of things, but then let go.
Declarative learning happens through the hippocampus, a part of the brain that plays important roles in the consolidation of information from short-term memory to long-term memory. Declarative learning lends itself to explicit, conscious recollection. This type of learning involves a weak set of patterns, that is, I can explain it to you, but from a place of explicit understanding rather than implicit experience. I can explain the theory but not the experience.
Learning by experience is called procedural learning. In procedural learning, acquisition and memory are demonstrated through task performance. We experience by doing. This learning happens through the part of the brain called the basal ganglia, responsible for habit formation and repeat task formation. This type of learning involves a strong set of patterns, where, I can explain to you by drawing on implicit experiences. As I practice any skill, my learning patterns become increasingly ingrained, like the grooves in a vinyl record.
For innovation initiatives to succeed we must experiment and not just discuss.