My 2026 Reading List
Books are where I slow down, sharpen my thinking, and occasionally escape altogether. I’m fairly indiscriminate in my tastes: leadership and self-development inevitably dominate the…
Writing
Reflections on leadership, change, complexity and what I’ve learned - as well as my personal blog, Mediocre Opinions.
Sunday roast marketing has been captured by AI
It's doing good, taking no one's job and it could be even better
You’re Not Saving a Document. You’re Printing One You’ll Never Hold.
The PDF deserves to fall away as the default far more, and far quicker, than it has.
What your caricature from ChatGPT is telling the world
You've seen the trend, no doubt. You've probably seen people railing against it too — AI is, for whatever reason you wish to pick from ecological to anti-capitalist, as abhorrent as any previous innovation has ever been. But has anyone considered what it's really telling us?
Can I still work from home?
It seems that this is a question capable of making strong, experienced leaders, used to using data to come up with answers and focusing efforts on outcomes, drop all of that experience and knowledge for petty arguments and gut-feel vibe takes.
What I learned from 12 years at the same company (that wasn’t really the same company)
Many versions of the organisation. Many organisations. Many versions of me. Far more than 12 years' experience.
Can your coffee shop preferences reveal your personality type?
The other day, I wrote about how strongly I feel that personality assessments like DISC need to be used in the right way to be…
Personality assessments like DISC are really helpful, until they’re not
Personality assessments are a big thing in leadership, and I have to admit that I’m quite torn on what I think of them. They can be…
There’s a point of AI Parky, but Parky is only half of it
In about October last year, there was some excitement about a new podcast being hosted by an AI re-creation of Michael Parkinson. It got all…
✅ Reading challenge
For another year in a row, I’ve achieved my goal of books – one a month during 2017 was a follow on from 1 a…
Why everyone should do media training
I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while, but wouldn’t the world be a better place if everyone had done media training? You…
Can I work from home?
How do you deal with the question “can I work from home?” and do it well? I think it’s a difficult one to get right, whether the person asking the question is a known and trusted colleague or someone new, asking in the middle of an interview.