The phrase 'the Ghost in the Machine' has long fascinated me, and occasionally has me exploring philosophical rabbit holes as I try to make sense of it - and test it against real world situations. In short, the phrase ‘ghost in the machine’ was coined by Gilbert Ryle - a British philosopher - in 1949. He was responding to the ideas of René...
Read MoreFor as long as humans have been around, the ability to decide who to trust - and who not to trust - has been a crucial part of our survival tool box. Individually, we human beings are relatively weak creatures, but our strength comes from forming social groups, to work, problem solve, and live together. And that requires communication and the...
Read MoreFeedback is a crucial element in engineering and science, ensuring that systems function optimally within known boundaries. Thermostats regulate temperature by adjusting heating output. Vehicle cruise control maintains speed but adapts to other traffic. Biological feedback loops—such as homeostasis and insulin regulation—help the body stay in...
Read More5 Common Practices you should definitely move on from Peter Drucker said: “The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence—it is to act with yesterday’s logic”. Well, we are in a time of turbulence - as per normal - although this quote feels particularly poignant just now. We see so many companies trying to operate today with...
Read MoreThe most common model for managing risk is what's known as the Ostrich Approach. This appears to work reasonably well in many situations, and is based on 3 concepts fortuitously working together:
Read MoreHwæt! We Gar-Dena in gear-dagum, þeod-cyninga, þrym gefrunon, hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon! We all remember inspirational teachers - those that in some way reached deeper into our minds and sparked wonder, creativity, imagination, and fun. For me, one such teacher - from my UK equivalent of Grade 3 - would tell us a classic story of adventure...
Read MoreIt is often cited that 90% of businesses don't have any form of strategic plan, and 90% of those that do, don't actually follow it. That means that only one percent of businesses actually have some sort of strategic plan that guides the business. While these figures may be open to some debate, the general principle behind this is widely...
Read MoreIn my ongoing quest to explore coffee shops, I recently came across another of note in one of the small towns near me. From the street, it wasn't too obvious, and on closer inspection, it had an eclectic mix of tables and chairs, curious décor, and other bits of furniture placed around the edges of the room - and so looked interesting. It was...
Read MoreWhen we find ourselves operating in the 'here and now', a place to which our human nature causes us to gravitate especially when things get busy, we can end up in an ongoing reactive mode and a cycle where we are constantly putting out fires rather than preventing them. By responding to the immediate obvious issue, we don't see the bigger issue...
Read MoreConsider the story of the blind men and the elephant. Each man touches a different part of the elephant and describes it based on his limited experience. One feels the trunk and thinks it’s a snake, another touches the leg and believes it’s a tree, while another feels the side and describes it as a wall, the fourth holds its tail and thinks it's...
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