Millions of people who didn’t know it before now know the importance of Plan B. Of course, even if they had had one, the chances of it coping with societal lockdown would have been remote. We don’t – or, rather, didn’t – expect pandemics. We do now. The planet is overpopulated and the consequences of…
Read more
I am indebted to Lawrence Pang for suggesting the theme and title of this Daily Paradox It’s not an unusual request though it is often expressed in other ways. As authority has shed some of its pomp and command the relationships between bosses and subordinates, between suppliers and customers, between rich and poor have changed…
Read more
Faced with a nasty HR situation in which a couple of senior middle management men were spreading false accusations about their boss, the Deputy CEO brought the full force of the disciplinary code to deal with the problem. This involved witnessed warning interviews (2), letters of required behaviour (3), and a deal of paperwork and…
Read more
A novel but useful way of looking at authority is to consider two countries at opposite ends of the world and their use of the ‘military’. In the United States the President will go down in the annals of appalling management for threatening the States with military action to enforce curfew. Military action is extreme.…
Read more
Getting a job is a job in itself and one that needs to be done seriously. Calling up a few friends and maybe a former employer or two won’t work. At best it will get you a stop-gap, low-level filler for a month or two. At worst it will use up your contacts in a…
Read more
When the military apologises for being filmed walking with the President, it is time for him to watch out. The forces of power are at odds with each other. When the police are indicted for the murder of a black protester, the forces of anger, black and white, are unleashed. They will not be easily…
Read more
Four months ago if you had said to me that I would be writing about the virtues of virtual I would have laughed you out of the apartment. But after several Webinar Wars and a quarter year’s learning about online mentoring and coaching I am an enthusiast. So are those of our team whose work…
Read more
Bending one knee and kneeling on the other is an acknowledged sign of agreement, of devotion to a faith or cause, and of friendship with those of the same mind. As with all signs it can be done sincerely or cynically, same as holding up a bible in front of a church in Washington –…
Read more
With big leaders it starts by one or two people, perhaps not so important but significant in their own sphere, getting thrown out for disagreeing. Maybe a whistleblower or two pronounces. The media catches it for a day or two before it quietens down. Then along comes a big issue and the true colours of…
Read more