CR III Royal Cypher
The design of the CR III cipher was produced by the College of Arms and continues a tradition of heraldry that has bound individual monarchs to the institution of monarchy for over a thousand years.
The Commons
Essays
Everything published, most recent first. Two a week: a standalone piece, and a reflection on that week's conversation.
337 essays
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LeadershipGovernanceManagementOrganisationsStrategyEthicsPhilosophyHistoryPoliticsPsychologyTechnologyArtificial Intelligence
Response: Why PI Planning is like a wolf in sheep’s clothing
When PI Planning is deployed by leaders who have the nuance, skill, and strategic capability to deliver an Agile project with a multi-year roadmap, PI Planning is an invaluable framework for program delivery.
The Commons
Responsibility, Ownership, Accountability
These are words we use often in an organisational context, but words that are seldom discussed; and when discussed, often done so opaquely or inaccurately.
Free to read
The Sources of Soviet Conduct
Today's Russia is pursuing the same aims as in 1946: autarchy for Russia and Russian-dominated adjacent areas by a leader, under pressure from nationalistic backers, who has miscalculated the situation.
Free to read
Twenty Years of Firefox
Little did I know how consistently Firefox would be my window to the World Wide Web, nor how its security, and in time privacy focus, would shape my understanding of what it means to be online.
Free to read
On Fairy-Stories and the Art of Fantasy
'Fantasy (in this sense) is, I think, not a lower but a higher form of Art, indeed the most nearly pure form, and so (when achieved) the most potent.'
Free to read
With a Quiet HeartOpinion
The Queen was an ever constant in a changeable and unpredictable world. Over seven decades, she was always there for us.
Free to read
The Subjective Nature of 'Nothing to Hide'Opinion
Whether you have something to hide has far more to do with who is looking than what they can see.
Free to read
Marginalia: Anatomy of a Search Engine
I wonder if there is an alternative reading in which they did not make a conscious decision to be 'evil'?
Inner Circle
5 reasons I will be celebrating the Queen’s Platinum JubileeOpinion
It becomes a partnership between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born.
Free to read
Pseudo-Profound Bullshit
In this context, we do well to reject the bullshitters of this world, but we do our understanding a disservice if we are sceptical to a fault.
Free to read
At A Journey's End
I have a thesis of which I am proud, and a marriage to my beautiful wife Halaina—who has been a constant source of love, joy, and support as I laboured in the archives.
Free to read
They Are TeachableOpinion
One of History's lessons is that once a group is deemed unteachable they will be placed in the category of an ever present threat to the preferred social order.
Free to read
Hugo: Or, There and Back Again
Time again at a premium, I mused on my latest quest for minimalism. In doing so I realised that I was creating as many problems as I was solving.
Free to read
Response: Sitting with Ambiguity
Sit with ambiguity, but be aware of when a seemingly circular conversation is enhancing a definitional understanding and when it is just a group of individuals unable to comprehend ambiguity hoping that a drawn out conversation will nail down the problem.
Free to read