How to develop robust decision principles
Learn from the best is what most of us aspire to do. So no wonder that when people like Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, decides to put his life principles into a book, you simply cannot not buy that book. Principles (Life and Work) is Ray Dalio’s personal explanation of his life work […]
3 key factors that can help you to become a successful original
In a world that in theory praises failure all across management and leadership wisdom (“failure leads to growthâ€), in reality many people’s number one worry is that they would fail publicly in something that they have invested heavily in. This means that most of us curb the innovation and original ideas that reside within us […]
How to lead and conference through vulnerability
The European Climate Change Adaptation Conference 2019 in Lisbon this week brought together 1200 individuals who are all working on different aspects of climate adaptation in Europe and internationally. Attending the conference and listening to the conversations taking place made me reflect again how we organise gatherings and how we design spaces, moments and times […]
How to create spaces for breakthrough ideas
I have started re-reading Safi Bachall’s book on Loonshots that I blogged about last week (here) and also thinking more broadly about taking time to focus and reflect on idea development. This is particularly relevant as the last weeks have made me also reconsider whether I am taking enough time to create these spaces for […]
How to create the right conditions for crazy ideas
When I heard Safi Bahcall on Harvard Ideacast talking about his new book Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries, there was no turning back. A book about how to foster innovation and breakthrough ideas is simply a must have. A loonshot is an innovation that essentially […]
Leadership and alter egos: making peer review more humane?
I have been attending this week sessions Manager as a Coach, a support program provided by the university for the staff in trying to get us to think more coach-like in how we manage people. My key takeaway messages are that power is something that is shared, that good leaders and managers focus on giving […]
How triage can help to make decisions
We all know the harsh reality of having to make decisions on how to spend such resources as our time and focus. Last week I co-wrote an article with Ben Preston for The Conversation on climate adaptation and triage. Triage as a concept emerged in World War I and is: a process of prioritizing actions […]
De-mystifying Creativity: the real strategy to empower the creative you
My latest book purchase is Allen Gannett’s The Creative Curve: How to Develop the right idea at the right time. I came across this book first on one of my favourite podcasts Learning Leader (episode 268) where Ryan Hawk interviews guests and tries to help us to understand how to reach and attain excellence in […]
Why peer review should be fun but can make you cry
The life of an academic is very much focused on and surrounded by the process of peer review. With peer review, I mean making and receiving comments on manuscripts that we have written or have been asked to read and assess for scientific journals. Most of us review papers for scientific journals in the hope […]
Is 1.5 degree goal an illusion?
This past week has been quite eventful given that major issues have been either discovered or experienced when it comes to climatic changes. Japan has been experiencing significant floods with never before seen rain events while cities around the word have reported having broken all time heat records. A new study published in Nature used […]