Guidelines 2022
Given that you already have far more than most people in history, and are as-good-as-certain to have more stuff than you’ll ever need even if… Read More »Guidelines 2022
kindness
Patricia Fara on cumulative unhistoric acts
When I first finished reading George Eliot’s Middlemarch in my early twenties, I resolved to live by her concluding insight that even unhistoric acts, small… Read More »Patricia Fara on cumulative unhistoric acts
Not at your best (2): Not yet
The best kind of not-at-your-best-ness is when you’re learning something. You’re not at your best yet, because you’re going to (rapidly?) get better. It’s exciting… Read More »Not at your best (2): Not yet
Not at your best (1)
By definition, you will spend most of your time not at your best. This is true on all dimensions: how you feel, how fast you… Read More »Not at your best (1)
Charles Darwin on teamwork and cooperation
When two tribes of primeval man, living in the same country, came into competition, if (other circumstances being equal) the one tribe included a great… Read More »Charles Darwin on teamwork and cooperation
Grace and mistakes
I’m a big believer in grace and second (and third) chances; I wouldn’t, couldn’t live without them. In the absence of enough information to make… Read More »Grace and mistakes
Friendly. Supportive.
These sound too obvious to be worth spending time on. No-one sets out to be the opposite, and pretty much everyone would say they’re a… Read More »Friendly. Supportive.
Neil Gaiman on reading fiction, empathy and changing the world
“Fiction has two uses. Firstly, it’s a gateway drug to reading. The drive to know what happens next, to want to turn the page, the… Read More »Neil Gaiman on reading fiction, empathy and changing the world
Commitment: their actual lives
This might be your life’s work. It might be a side project. But as you work – doing something to help, perhaps hiring people to… Read More »Commitment: their actual lives
Organisational culture: specifying minimums, modelling maximums
A while ago a friend helpfully pointed out to me that laws and rules can only ever specify the minimum behaviour acceptable in a given… Read More »Organisational culture: specifying minimums, modelling maximums