People are losing their cognitive ability to think. Creativity and innovation move society forward; to cultivate these skills, an environment where people can think and act on their own accord is required. If you continuously intervene and try to minimise adverse outcomes by telling people what to do, what do you end up with? Minimising the number of decisions people make by giving them rules, signs, and directions might seem like a safe bet, but it risks potential catastrophe if things don’t go according to plan. I’m not saying we should live in a lawless society with no rules; I’m suggestin ..read more

It’s easier to motivate people to work harder than it is to work smarter. It’s easier to reward people for complying with measurable activities and meeting KPI’s than it is to reward creativity and innovation, particularly for early career professionals. Let's dive in. There's a Mismatch Do you think about how your incentive plan is structured? And compare it with what you are asked to do? If you look closely, there is often a mismatch. For example, you may be told, “We want you to bring innovative ideas to the table and be creative as we try to improve the way we work.”, but your bonus plan i ..read more

This statement was made during a talk I attended, and it got me thinking. A British expat (let’s call him Dave) was tasked with building and leading a team of local employees on a very complex project in West Africa. There were over 100 employees who spoke a different language and did not have the level of expertise and skill he was used to working with. The place was a pit. There was rubbish lying around, and people wondering about with no intention, guidance or idea of what they should be doing. The uniforms the employees were wearing were soiled and unkempt. There were no company logos on t ..read more

Do you ever wonder how the quality of your questions affects the quality of the answers you receive? “I asked them to do X, and they’ve gone and done Y, sometimes I wonder…” Ever heard or said that phrase before? If yes, it’s likely that your questions are structured in a way that’s easy for you to understand, and not the recipient. What’s the risk of A Poorly Structured Question or Instruction? It’s incredibly frustrating for those involved, but it’s also expensive, unnecessarily stressful and causes tension in the group. “You asked me to do X, I did X, and now you’re asking me to do Y” Here ..read more

We love to tell ourselves and others how busy we are, and how hard we work. If you aren’t busy, then what are you doing? Drinking coffee? Even if we don’t explicitly say how busy we are, it is communicated through body language, intonation, and how we respond and react to questions. Busyness serves as a kind of existential reassurance, a hedge against emptiness; obviously your life cannot possibly be silly or trivial or meaningless if you are so busy, completely booked, in demand every hour of the day.” — Oliver Burkeman The reason I take issue with this is that I recognise it in myself. If yo ..read more

It’s easy to say, “I don’t understand the difference” or “They are all as bad as each other” as an excuse to not have to try to inform yourself, but what use is this? You can turn a blind eye and hide from what you don’t want to see/hear - but you can’t hide from it forever, and it will most likely come to bite you. This is relevant for work and life. We all hold our own opinions regardless of what we believe, and I will explain the importance of informing yourself further instead of sitting on the fence on important matters. A Simple, but Relevant Example Picture a population of people, say 1 ..read more

I am sure you know what a woodpecker is, and maybe you have heard them, too. During the breeding season, woodpeckers excavate a hole in a tree to use as a nest. They do this by continuously tapping their beaks against the tree. A pair works together to help build the nest, incubate the eggs and raise their young. Can you guess how long it takes to build the nest? Depending on the woodpecker species and the type of tree, it can take about a month to finish the job. Why is this significant? Well, considering Woodpeckers only live for about 10 years max, this represents a significant portion of t ..read more

When it comes to work, business, or wealth creation, as individuals, we are limited in what we can do and achieve ourselves. If you want to achieve anything substantial, what do you do? You use leverage. “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.” - Archimedes Leverage is using an acquired experience, skill, knowledge or tool to achieve a desired outcome. Humans evolved in societies with limited/no leverage, where inputs were equal to outputs. Back in the day, if I was working in the fields or hunting, I knew 8 hours of input would equal about ..read more

I came across this phrase listening to a podcast with Naval Ravikant. If you want something done, go. If not, then send.” - Benjamin Franklin The phrase refers to a phenomenon known as the principal-agent problem, which is a priority conflict between a principal, ie the owner, and the agent, ie the worker. There are a multitude of situations this can be applied to. In this case, I will relate it to work. The Priorities of the Principal differ from the Agent’s From the accountability perspective, the principal has skin in the game and the agent is there for a salary (and other incentives). When ..read more

From climate change debates to electric cars to vegan vs carnivore diets. Most people sit on one end of the spectrum, but what’s in the middle? The mark of first-grade intellectual is the ability to hold two opposing thoughts simultaneously. - F. Scott Fitzgerald Failing to Notice the Nuance There’s more nuance in these debates than we would like to believe. Whether we hold on to our beliefs and opinions because of pride or sheer ignorance, there is often no clear-cut answer, and very few of us are in a position to give expert advice or opinions on a topic. So why do we take an extreme positio ..read more