Spill Chucking and the Art of Floorless Communication

Graham Birkenhead, June 30 2026

Do you recognise this situation? You are drafting a text message on your phone.  You type a perfectly sensible word and it changes it into something entirely different. You correct it and it changes it again. After several attempts to get the word you want, you slow right down to type the word one letter at a time, and carry on with the rest of...

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What sets Off Your 'Squirrel-Alarm'?

Andrew Penny, June 23 2026

I stopped into a local bagel shop recently for a coffee and breakfast bagel after my morning swim. I’d been there a few months earlier and hadn’t had a great experience, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt. Everyone has an off day. Surely they’d have sorted things out by

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The Agency Continuum

Graham Birkenhead, June 16 2026

Most companies say they want proactive people. People who spot problems before they become crises. People who take ownership, seek opportunities, and look for ways to improve things. And people who don’t simply wait to be told what to do before taking appropriate action. And yet, strangely, many of these same organisations unintentionally teach...

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What Are You Paying For?

Andrew Penny, June 9 2026

As a boy in Montréal, I delivered newspapers door-to-door (neither rain, nor snow, nor gloom of night, etc…)  It was seen as an essential service to keep the population informed and actively participating in our democracy. Getting real ’news’ is a bit harder now but no less essential – particularly for business leaders. To be effective, we need...

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Trapped by Success

Graham Birkenhead, June 2 2026

A few days ago, a hummingbird found its way into my garage and was flying around trying to get out.  The strange thing is that both garage doors were fully open, as was the side window, and there was plenty of daylight coming in. And yet the bird was 'trapped' in my garage.  For hours, it flew around in circles constantly tapping against the...

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Teach Your Children Well

Andrew Penny, May 26 2026

Apparently, human intelligence has already been eclipsed by AI. And not just by a little. One comparison I heard recently was this: we are to hamsters what AI will soon be to us. Now, I tend to think I’m at least a few notches above a hamster. Most days anyway. But it does raise an interesting question. What will AI make of

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What Gets Measured Gets Managed

Graham Birkenhead, May 19 2026

'What gets measured gets managed' is one of the most quoted phrases in management and leadership, and for good reason. Measurement matters, because organisations need visibility, leaders need feedback, and teams need clarity about what matters and whether progress is being made. Without some form of measurement, organisations tend to use a mix...

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Nobody Needs a €4 Fridge Magnet

Andrew Penny, May 12 2026

Recently my wife and I spent almost a week in Barcelona. Great city. Great weather. Lots to see and do. And of course… shopping. The place is absolutely overrun with souvenir shops. T-shirts, magnets, mugs, little Sagrada Família models — the same stuff over and over again. Walking around, I kept thinking: “How on earth do all these places...

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How Much Information is Enough?

Graham Birkenhead, May 5 2026

I'm fascinated by the way people go in search of information - or don't, and what they do with it - or don't.  Some people can never seem to have enough and always seek more, others seem to have it instantly at their fingertips - and are not afraid to use it. We have this idea that information is useful and helpful - but that's not always the...

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Strategic Neutral Is Not a Strategy

Andrew Penny, April 28 2026

Not long ago, leadership conversations had a familiar cadence. There was an inherently outward posture — a bias toward expansion. Even risk was framed in the context of opportunity. That orientation has shifted. Now the questions are more circumspect:

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