A small thing, or not?

Why is it so?

Here’s a paradox: The world’s largest animal (whales) subsists on the world’s smallest (krill, a type of micro-shrimp). But did you also know this? When whales are hunted, krill decrease.

Think about that for a moment: shouldn’t krill increase, when they’re not eaten?

It turns out it’s not as simple as that. My rule of thumb for systems thinking is this: “When a one-to-one relationship doesn’t predict things the way it ought, I’m missing at least one variable”. In this case, there are TWO missing variables.

You see, whales poop. A lot. And, the poop nourishes phytoplankton. And, guess who eats the phtyoplankton. Yes, the krill. So, we have the virtuous cycle illustrated below.

Now, think about other non-binary phenomena in your business world that behave like this. In fact, I can think of dozens (which, incidentally, give rise to dozens of speciality consultancies!).

Here are just three:

1. large service organisations are regulated by multiple regulators, creating unpredictable and unintended effects (giving rise to a consultancy that acts as a specialist regulatory ‘translator’ and ‘go-between’);
2. talent in organisations is unevenly distributed, meaning that development and career pathways aren’t always predictably linearly effective (giving rise to consultancies that spot ‘high potential talent’ several layers from the top); and
3. messaging after a crisis doesn’t always reach its desired audiences on a straightforward path (giving rise to consultancies that help assure the positive impact of advocacy efforts).

Question: When can you be misled by thinking that a business pattern is the product of just two variables interacting (and in fact, is many more)?

Cells

This time next week I’ll be on a trip to work with the UN. So my mind is turning to “What to pack?”

I love packing light, and my dilemma is this. I’m away for less than two weeks, but I’m leading strategic meetings in two climates (Nairobi is sub-tropical, while Geneva is frigid). I’ll have a little downtime — and some ‘business social’ events too.

So, my new friend, which I can’t wait to road-test are these. Yes, packing cubes.

Now, you’re thinking, “What? He’s never used packing cubes??” I know. I’m a slow learner about some things. But my wife has used them on her last two trips and she’s a convert. She love three things:

a) Logical organisation means things are findable and separable

b) Compressed space?makes for efficient packing

c) It’s fast - unpack and repack is super-quick.

Of course, this got me considering how these three principles actually apply to so many more things than just packing cubes: the way we communicate to our staff and customers, the layout of our physical premises, the organisation of our knowledge systems, to name but a few.

Question: How do you organise the ‘logic’ of your offerings so your clients can understand them easily?

Keeping the light alive

My son, Jasper is in Year 9 next year, and many schools at that age offer some kind of ‘nature pedagogy’, either short (weeklong), medium (a term, or 10 weeks), or long (in one famous case, that of Geelong Grammar’s Timbertop, for the entire year).

Lots of these models exist. For instance Gill McAuliffe runs Nature’s Atelier in Western Australia. Her vision is to “keep the light alive in children’s eyes” by immersing 6 month to 12 year olds in nature.

Her team runs a bush kindergarten, teaches kids animal care, tending gardens and cooking fresh produce, and runs deep learning opportunities about bones, craters, wood, clay and trees. Their philosophy aims to help children thrive by exposing them to joy and wonder, finding balance and harmony through a dance with the natural world, and in relation to each other.

But consider this more fundamental question at the root of McAuliffe’s work: “When, and why does the light even go out?”

Why are there even books like “Bullshit Jobs” by David Graeber that explore the social harm of meaningless jobs? Graeber argues that half of societal work is pointless (he defines five types: flunkies, goons, duct tapers, box tickers, and taskmasters) and these become psychologically destructive when paired with a?widespread paradigm that associates work with self-worth. Somewhere through life, many of us have lost our capacity for joy and wonder, and exchanged it for the continuous but low level stress and ennui of the mundane.?

Question: As an adult, and as a professional, what can you do to recapture “the light”, the joy and wonder, in everyday life?

Thanks as always for joining me. I love that you read this and I also love knowing that you’re out there. So please click the like, or drop me a line here or elsewhere.

Look for the krill in your world, and until next Friday, stay well.

Andrew