I heard of a mother who was so sick and tired of asking her children to lay the table before dinner that one day, when they were all sat around a bare table, the mother started ladelling food straight onto the table. This drastic measure panicked the kids so much that they scrambled to find … Continue reading Nagging →

Seth Godin, Stephen king, Steven Pressfield and Isaac Asimov. What do these four all have in common? They're all men! They all have an s in their name! They all like cheese! Hmm the answer I was going for was - they all write daily. Ah! By writing daily they have found a process. A … Continue reading Daily writers →

In tag rugby the short kick to oneself is extremely hard to defend. There are only a few who can do pull it off on demand and it's no coincidence that they are all on the national team. What I find interesting is that anyone can learn this skill. You don't need a coach to … Continue reading The short kick →

I think there is no such thing as writer's block. I think writer's block is really the fear of failure and the fear of judgement but that's not very mysterious is it? It's much more romantic to think of writers as tortured souls with flashes of creative genius than ordinary people who are scared. So … Continue reading Destruction of writer’s block →

When it's just an opinion you don't have to take it personally. You can go about your day secure in your abilities and taste. When it's perceived as criticism you have to sulk or rage or weep depending on your modus operandi. So examining the comment for the presence of an opinion could save you … Continue reading Opinion or criticism →

I think so much of joining a new group is about tribal acceptance. You timidly enter the circle, start conversations and monitor expressions to gauge how well you are doing. You want to know do they consider me one of their own? The responsibility will fall on both sides of course, if the group isn't … Continue reading Onboarding remote team members →

Don't worry he won't bite It's just a tiny pinch and it's over in a flash. They're just going to ask you a few simple questions. The best cure is experience. Hearing that the dog isn't aggressive is all well and good but it does nothing for anxiety. Making your way through a petting unbitten … Continue reading The experience cure →

2001: A Space Odyssey is hailed as one of the greatest science fiction movies of all time but the film didn't pop into existence from a vacuum in Stanley Kubrick's mind. Firstly it wasn't the first ever space movie. Kubrick did not invent the genre, he added to it. Secondly the screenplay was written by … Continue reading 2001: A Space Odyssey →

Constructive criticism is kind of like getting a vaccine, it'll be beneficial in the long run but right it stings like a mother fudger.

I think the problem with doomsday plans is that they've got the word doom in it and that word invariably attracts the word gloom quickly followed by disaster and chaos. I think at the heart of over reliance is an unwillingness to contemplate the potential bad times. Even thinking about letting my favourite colleagues go … Continue reading Dooms day plans →