Do you often feel overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of work you need to get through and think to yourself “if only there were more hours in a day”? The team at AsapSCIENCE argue that more time isn’t what’s needed, its knowing how to maximise the time we have. And perhaps surprisingly, taking regular breaks is part of the solution. Read More
The ‘attention economy’ is one of six major trends identified by designers considering the role design plays in our world. Attention is considered to be a scarce resource. Worth thinking about. There are implications and learning here for those interested in organisational development. Read More
In many ways, the notion of what managers do hasn’t changed much since the days of Henri Fayol who in 1916 identified planning, organizing, motivating and controlling (a fifth function – coordinating – was later added) as the major functions of a manager. What has changed is the thinking about how people and tasks should be managed and why middle management. Read More
Few men are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality of those who seek to change a world which yields most painfully to change. Read More
The past century of science has demonstrated the pivotal role of biochemistry in such human phenomena as love, attraction, and lust. But to consider that individual neurobiology might impact things as rational and complex as, say, stock markets seems rather radical. Yet that’s precisely what trader-turned-neuroscientist John Coates explores in The Hour Between Dog and Wolf: Risk Taking, Gut Feelings and the Biology of Boom and Bust (public library) — an ambitious look at how body chemistry affects high-stakes financial trading, in which Coates sets out to construct — and deconstruct — a “universal biology of risk-taking.” Read More
I recently had the privilege of preparing a group of senior teachers from the Barossa for their role as mentors to early career teachers in their region. One of the ideas explored that created a lot of discussion was that we respond more positively to people who are optimistic thinkers and that help us create positive images of our future. Appreciative inquiry (AI) taps into this ideal by providing conversation guideposts that focus on identifying and building on strengths (what’s working well) rather than weaknesses (what’s broken that needs fixing). AI was first developed in the mid-1980s by David Cooperrider and has evolved over time to include five key stages: Read More