The Hybrid Opportunity

Don't we already do this? 

The cliches around the future of work can be confronting. It’s all about hybrid employment, constant re-skilling and the death of jobs-for-life. It’s a challenge for employees and managers alike: how will people be monitored? who coordinates production? how is performance assessed? That’s before we talk about the sheer speed of change. The technology is flooding into industry at a rapid rate. 

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The Plus Side of the Pandemic

Harnessing Urgency

Just prior to Covid I came across this quote from Oliver Sachs on to the nature of a near-death experience: “There is an intense sense of immediacy and reality, and a dramatic acceleration of thought, perception and reaction, which allows one to negotiate danger successfully.” 

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What's next?

Simple questions for post-pandemic reality 

A business I work with is based in another country. We meet regularly for board meetings, audit reviews, advisory sessions and related catch-ups. That takes roughly three days, bookended by two days of travel to get there and back. In short, a working week. 

Last month we did it all in five hours on a Wednesday.

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Shopping for change

Three simple questions

My first home was the flat above my father’s store in a  modest working class suburb. What was good about it? Everyone knew everyone; the railway station was across the road; if you wanted to buy something, it was around the corner. In short, community, connectivity and convenience.

Not much happens there now. Online shopping has eroded retail. People connect more on the net than in person. If you want to shop, the nearest mall is a better option. 

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The case for agnostic management

Do you really know that you could be wrong?

How confusing is the outlook for this year? With so many odd predictions it’s impossible to identify reliable forecasts.  

History tells us most will be wrong. Early last year Amazon announced it would start selling groceries. Some say that’s why Amazon’s share price rose about 40% by Christmas. Yet if you were asked to name a stock that would do even better and you answered old-school grocer Walmart, you’d be right. Amazon had the hype but the facts were that Walmart wasn’t in too bad a shape either.

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