William from Ockham (or Occam), was a philosopher of the fourteenth century. Today he is most often associated with ‘Ockham’s Razor’, the idea that explanations should be as simple as possible. But he said the same about how we spend our precious time and resources... As Ockham put it: "It is futile to do with … Continue reading Ockham’s Razor
Curling
Facing big challenges? Anxious you might not seize an opportunity, or that people and personalities might get in the way? There are some things in working life you can’t fix or tackle until the right moment comes; so rather than worrying, sometimes it’s best to save your energy and trust yourself to perform ‘in the … Continue reading Curling
Silence is Golden
Some years ago I was told that the single most influential thing a person can do is listen. Listening is the Specialist-Generalist's best friend - you learn, people help you and best of all they feel heard. Silence is golden... Managers, Know When to Stop Talking and Start Listening As a manager, you probably have … Continue reading Silence is Golden
Uncomfortable Truths
By John Worne A nice piece below in Management Today on biases and cognitive dissonance. As Daniel Kahneman puts it: "We’re blind to our blindness. We have very little idea of how little we know. We're not designed to know how little we know."A new one on me is the 'Ikea Effect' - being disproportionately proud … Continue reading Uncomfortable Truths
Small Fish
"Governing a large country is like frying small fish. Too much poking spoils the meat." Laozi 531 BCE As a Specialist-Generalist, some days you can feel you have 'bigger fish to fry' than what's on your plate; but Laozi advocates taking care with the small ones too... According to traditional accounts, Laozi was a scholar who … Continue reading Small Fish
The ‘why’ and ‘how’ of Emotional Intelligence
With thanks to Eric Barker, everyone benefits from a Specialist-Generalist working on their 'emotional intelligence'. So what is it really? It's a concept that John Mayer of the University of New Hampshire and Yale professor Peter Salovey came up with in the early 90's that was subsequently studied and popularized by Daniel Goleman. Here's Mayer's definition. From … Continue reading The ‘why’ and ‘how’ of Emotional Intelligence
Small is beautiful
By John Worne Big ideas - and big projects - are vital for any organisation to move forward; and there's usually no shortage of them. But real energy and momentum, pace and progress often come from doing smaller things. On spotting a useful 'small change' a Specialist-Generalist will often be jostled by stakeholders, senior leaders … Continue reading Small is beautiful
Post-Heroic Leadership
By John Worne One thing the Specialist-Generalist - and especially the COO has to accept, is for us: the classic model of 'Heroic' leadership probably isn't going to work. In truth it probably doesn't work well for anyone any more; but assuming you're working with a CEO or another obvious 'lead' figure, then (as in … Continue reading Post-Heroic Leadership
HBR – Pick your quick wins
A Specialist-Generalist often needs to weave a little magic when they start a new job; it's important to get people buying in and on board. And it's often harder than for an acknowledged specialist or a functional leader. I shared this simple but important piece of advice from the HBR with a newly promoted Director … Continue reading HBR – Pick your quick wins
Professional Standards
By John Worne Often as organisations grow, they 'professionalise'. Bringing more outside expertise in key areas is often crucial as scale and complexity increase - in Finance, IT, HR, Estates, Governance, Legal, Security, Risk and the list goes on. Very often incoming professionals have a difficult transition - especially when things in their new organisation … Continue reading Professional Standards
The Specialist-Generalist 