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
Dashboards
dashboard /ˈdaʃbɔːd/ An arrangement of gauges and controls in a motor vehicle. A board of wood or leather in front of a carriage, to keep out mud. As Paul Dawson writes today: The builders of the early motor vehicles borrowed their methods and their language from the horse-drawn vehicles they had long been familiar with. … Continue reading Dashboards
Perspectives
A nice piece in the HBR today on exploring different perspectives and the inherent tensions between some (indeed many) roles in the modern organisation. I've used Susan Scott's description from 'Fierce Conversations' of the organisational 'beach ball' a few times recently - if you're finance the world is one colour, if you're operations another and … Continue reading Perspectives
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
Bad Behaviour
By John Worne People problems are part of every Specialist-Generalist's working life. Whether it's good people moving on; or more difficult customers giving others a hard time. There are myriad ways to respond to and manage people problems; entire libraries of insights, tools and techniques. But the single thing that matters the most is to … Continue reading Bad Behaviour
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
‘Monetising’ Problems
By John Worne Not everything can be counted in money, nor should it be - but paradoxically putting a price on a deeply human problem usually helps move things along. Why? Once something intractable is 'monetised' as a "£1m problem"; either in direct spend to fix it or in potential hidden losses and impacts, then … Continue reading ‘Monetising’ Problems
The Specialist-Generalist 