Articles
Thoughts on leadership, competence, organisational culture and the future of work
Ownership
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Organisational Culture: What the Evidence Says and What Leaders Get Wrong
Most leaders believe they understand their organisation’s culture. Few actually do. They confuse the values printed on the wall with the behaviours happening in the meeting room. And they mistake surface-level engagement…
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Organisational Culture Is a Leadership Problem, Not an HR One
When a company’s culture turns toxic, who gets the call? Almost always, it’s HR. Organisations hand them the problem, give them a budget for workshops and engagement surveys. And expect them to…
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What Actually Builds Organisational Culture (And Why Most Leaders Are Looking in the Wrong Place)
Most leaders believe they are actively shaping their organisational culture through vision statements, away days, and carefully worded values pinned to the office wall. The uncomfortable truth is that these efforts, while…
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When Ideology Replaces Competence: Why Organisations Fail when Belief Matters More Than Performance
The Slow Drift from Excellence to Ideology Every successful organisation begins with a simple purpose. It exists to achieve an outcome. Businesses generate value for customers. Hospitals restore health. Schools educate. Armed…
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Bullshit Collapse
Why Failure Always Looks Sudden Every organisational collapse is described the same way. “No one saw it coming.”“It happened so fast.”“Everything was fine until it wasn’t.” That story is comforting. It suggests…
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Bullshit Endurance
How Organisations Learn to Live With Dysfunction Organisations rarely fail when the first things go wrong. They fail much later, after they’ve learned how to live with things being wrong. That is…
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The Bullshit Premium
Why Talking Well Now Pays Better Than Doing Well There was a time when competence was the currency. You learned how things worked.Understood failure modes.Earned trust because, when things went wrong, you…
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When Talking the Job Became More Valuable Than Doing It?
There was a time when competence was obvious. Now, talking the job has become almost as important as doing it. You could see it in how someone approached a problem. In how…
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The Employee Engagement Crisis: Why Another Survey Won’t Fix It
Organisations have spent years trying to work out how to motivate employees. They have introduced engagement surveys, recognition schemes, performance bonuses, wellbeing programmes, employee awards, team-building exercises, leadership initiatives, pulse surveys, flexible…
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Email Etiquette
Understanding Email Etiquette is crucial to avoid common pitfalls that may lead to HR issues. In the modern workplace, email etiquette is an indispensable skill. It facilitates communication, documents decisions, and connects…
