Hard work isn’t one thing. In part one of this series I map three forms leaders confuse—Outthinking, Pure Effort, and Opportunistic positioning—and shows when each helps (and harms). Part two tackles Consistency and Focus, and how to make them compound.
A practical method for how to turn AI into a thinking partner—surfacing assumptions, testing arguments, and strengthening decisions through disciplined cognitive friction.
In an age of cheap text and AI-generated plausibility, leaders are not misled by too little information but by too much of the wrong kind. In this piece I explore why attention has become a governance risk—and why learning what to ignore now matters as much as what to know.
Metacognition is the discipline of noticing—and revising—your thinking in real time. It sharpens judgement, steadies emotion, and turns debriefs and assumption checks into a practical system for better decisions.
Bad news rarely breaks trust; bad delivery does. Too often managers turn necessary cuts into needless cruelty. Yet, predictability, clear reasons, real control, and concrete compassion can preserve dignity and actually build trust even when decisions hurt.
A 2025 review of authority, trust, coherence and attention—plus a strategic outlook for 2026 on AI governance, provenance, regulation and decision quality. What to prioritise, what to ignore, and why clarity beats theatre.
A practical playbook for human-centred AI: redesigning workflows, building capability, governing judgment, and sustaining talent pipelines so AI amplifies human agency rather than hollowing out the organisation.
A practical guide for managers who need candid teams and consistent delivery. Six disciplined moves that sharpen judgment, normalise challenge, and build the structures that keep work honest, focused, and on track.
Psychological safety is often miscast as comfort. It's time to restore a harder edge: as a discipline that lets teams surface error early, challenge authority safely, and keep standards sharp—especially in hybrid work, where voice is fragile and candour is the real performance engine.
Articles examining the distinction between leading and managing, the limits of managerialism, and the conditions under which authority, judgement, and responsibility can be exercised well.
All in Leadership & Management
On the Subject of Leadership is a long-form podcast for people who carry responsibility. No slogans—just clear thinking on authority, judgment, coordination, and accountability under real constraints, through research-led conversations with founders and executives.
Writing on boards, accountability, decision-making, and institutional design, with a focus on how governance either sustains or corrodes organisational legitimacy over time.
All in Governance
When CEOs and Chief People Officers become the source of misconduct, who guards the guardians? The Astronomer scandal reveals how those entrusted with culture and ethics often shield power instead. HR curates the truth, boards hear only what’s filtered, and employees withdraw into defensive silence.
Analysis of strategy, competition, and organisational coherence, drawing on classical strategy, contemporary practice, and scepticism toward fashionable frameworks.
All in Business & Strategy
A 2025 review of authority, trust, coherence and attention—plus a strategic outlook for 2026 on AI governance, provenance, regulation and decision quality. What to prioritise, what to ignore, and why clarity beats theatre.
Reflections on power, institutions, and public life, exploring how political ideas shape—and are shaped by—social norms, incentives, and cultural assumptions.
All in Society & Politics
Margaret Mead argued for keeping Santa as myth, not deception—preserving wonder while nurturing critical thinking. Treating Santa as symbolic and drawing on diverse traditions fosters imagination, honesty, and cultural insight.
Essays on the intellectual currents that influence how we think and work: philosophy, culture, language, and the often-unexamined ideas that structure everyday decisions.
All in Ideas & Culture
Metacognition is the discipline of noticing—and revising—your thinking in real time. It sharpens judgement, steadies emotion, and turns debriefs and assumption checks into a practical system for better decisions.
Writing on technological change, scientific authority, and their organisational and social consequences—separating genuine progress from inflated promise.
All in Science & Technology
As Apple's privacy respecting posture gives way to the pull of marketing dollars through making user data the product, their third way begins to fall short.
Observations on writing, publishing, and the media ecosystem, including the economics of attention, the craft of authorship, and the changing conditions of public discourse.
All in Publishing & Media
The em-dash has fallen under suspicion—treated as a tell-tale sign of artificial writing rather than what it has always been: a mark of care, rhythm, and thought in motion. It should return to good standing so we can recover linguistic standards we seem oddly eager to abandon.
