Category Archives: Uncategorized

Expectation Management

From the journalist Ian Dunt, on the role of expectation management in handling government election results (but is far more general): “The purpose of expectation management is to neutralise the impact of that data. It uses storytelling to blanket the brute reality of the numbers. It turns an Excel spreadsheet into a Word document.” SuccinctlyContinue reading “Expectation Management”

Knowledge Cafés – What Are They?

Recently I attended an online gathering known as a Knowledge Café. It was organised by David Gurteen who is well known for his many contributions to knowledge management as well as running such Cafés all over the world. Here’s David’s description of a Knowledge Café and it’s purpose (my emphasis in bold): “A Knowledge CaféContinue reading “Knowledge Cafés – What Are They?”

Exhibitions At The London Tates

I’ve recently been to exhibitions at Tate Britain and Tate Modern in London. The first was by (the very impressive) Paula Rego, followed by Anicka Yi and Rodin, and finally the recently opened Hogarth exhibition. I’m a member (supporter) of the Tate and decided a couple of months ago to visit regularly as Covid-19 issuesContinue reading “Exhibitions At The London Tates”

Making Decisions Under Doubt

A previous post discussed new approaches to handling doubt, motivating it’s use as a source of creativity and wisdom rather than as a mental block. There was a focus on exploring unknowns and not being paralysed by them. I was interested to see this quote from Deborah Meaden, a well-known UK entrepreneur and investor: “ButContinue reading “Making Decisions Under Doubt”

Doubt As A Superpower

The most popular post I’ve ever written concerns the well-known physicist Richard Feynman and how he overcame a brief period of dejection after winning the Nobel prize in 1965. Perhaps paradoxically, he doubted his ability to continue to make useful and original contributions to theoretical physics after the prize, maybe thinking he had reached hisContinue reading “Doubt As A Superpower”

A New Kind Of University

I’ve written previously about interdisciplinary mindsets so was interested to read about a new breed of university in The Times (paywall unfortunately). I’m a product of the UK educational system; A levels at grammar school, university degree via maths/physics modules and then a doctorate in high energy physics. This lead on to further academic researchContinue reading “A New Kind Of University”

Figuring Out Whether You’re Happy

Here’s a fascinating TED Talk by Daniel Kahneman, the famous psychologist who got the Nobel Prize for Economics in 2002 for his pioneering work on the role of behaviour (such as irrationality) in economics. The talk deals with the duality and conflicts between experiencing things and remembering things. He points out that we have twoContinue reading “Figuring Out Whether You’re Happy”