If you're of the working class you should really take some time today to read this brilliant essay from Bertrand Russell, titled "In Praise of Idleness". Written in 1932, Russell challenges the idea that there is virtue in work and casts a vision for what our world would be like if we worked less and leisured more. It's fascinating to consider how relevant his argument is so many years later given the fact that we are mainly knowledge workers now. [...]
Instead of relying on the silo metaphor to describe the ineffectiveness of how we work together in organisations, let’s rather see how we participate in ‘worlds’ that can be bridged. Shifting the metaphor means we let go of the desire to ‘break down’ barriers, choosing a constructive means of investing in connectedness. I do not believe that the metaphors we use to describe our organisations are innocent. They have a real impact on they way we work. For example, in [...]
There are two simple but powerful questions you can use to make sense of what is happening in your team or organisation. They will bring out the 'silent themes’ that are holding you back. I was facilitating a team story process recently with a senior management team which is tasked with some hefty targets within a multinational firm. After an hour or so of conversation I observed something peculiar about the way the people interacted with each other. I would pose a question and a [...]
