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 […]
Adult development theory and climate governance

These past weeks are all turning into some sort of a nightmare story specifically for those of us who work on climate change. The World Meteorological Organisation just announced that 2017 is now on record with the highest levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, despite countries committing to cut their emissions. To put it […]
How to always make good decisions

This week a friend of mine posted a question in Facebook about decisions: what do you do when you are faced with a decision, how do you know you pick the “right” fork in the road? It was somewhat amusing to read the advice and answers (my own included) about how we know we have […]
How to build identity-based habits

This week I was really struck by James Clear who was on the Coaching for Leaders podcast (episode 376). He has just published the book Atomic Habits where he discusses simple yet effective strategies in how we can change our habits, how to break the bad ones and how to excel in good ones. I […]
Building blocks in drafting a winning strategy

I have been moving to a new house and this process has opened up a Pandora’s box of customer experiences with very different kinds of companies. This has come down to choosing electricity providers, trying to get the roof fixed, internet connected, you name it. The beauty of moving houses is that it really provides […]
Why sound decision-making is ultimately about how you deal with surprises

We often focus on key decisions and are interested in how top performers, such as CEOs and top athletes, make decisions. Apparently, all we need to do is to model their behaviour, glean into their secrets and then implement these in our lives. Research into decision points in particular (what major decisions people have taken) […]
Are we heading to Hothouse Earth?

This past week the news have not been any getting better. The heat waves are still affecting countries: in South Korea, temperatures around +39 are said to prevail at least 23 consecutive days and in southern Europe, temperatures are still abnormally high. In California, wild fires are ranging to the extent that now the military […]
Unprecedented yet so close: why heatwaves and flooding could be here to stay

This past week the news have sizzled with news about extreme fire events, large ranging bushfires in Sweden and Greece. Japan declared last week the heatwave a disasters while being faced with an unprecedented heatwave. 22 000 people were taken to hospital and this has impacted the elderly in particular. Portugal is set to face […]
Is conservation missing the boat on climate adaptation?

This week I have attended the 5th European Congress on Conservation, organised by Society of Conservation Biology. My reason attending this conference is that I am curious as to how climate adaptation is treated/examined in other fields (it’s also in Finland, which of course is a plus). In general, I want to have a better […]
Rebuilding in a changing world

This week, several news items have focused on rebuilding and relocation. There are many areas that have experienced devastating disasters where people still rebuild, often because they do not necessarily have a choice. Others are willing to take more risks and assess for example living in a flood prone area as a gamble that they […]