What ancient wisdom can teach us about managing talent
While Brahma creates the Cosmos and Shiva destroys it, Vishnu takes us through the cycle between creation to destruction whilst ensuring Cosmic order. In this picture, Vishnu can be seen lying on his serpent Ananta on his coiled bed. His wife Lakshmi is at his feet. On the face of it, this does not make […]
Do you know how to listen?
Do you know how to listen? And more importantly, what to listen to? In the last two weeks, I’ve had two consecutive sessions at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad teaching social entrepreneurs and leaders about the power of listening. Despite that true listening is a life changing experience, so few of us have learned […]
Hidden meaning in warning signs
Much can be learned about Culture by observing prohibition signs: what a society considers pure and impure; normal and taboo; acceptable and unacceptable; safe and unsafe; and good and bad. Excess use of warning signs also reveals the struggle of the powerful and the rebellion of the powerless against compliance and conformity. While you are […]
What’s wrong with positive psychology?
I have been touring South Asia/India for over a week now. One thing that has left me stunned is the incessant yearning for feedback in the service sector. Every restaurant, cafe, hairdresser, and car rental company wants feedback. Typically, feedback involves careful attention to customers perception and a calculated response for process improvement. But this […]
Not getting enough value from audits? Replace your doormats
Last week I visited an Indian company with a branch office in Norway. Unlike all of their offices worldwide, I noticed there was no Ganesha at the reception – the Hindu deity half elephant and half human. Upon asking, the receptionist pointed me to the doormat with the company logo at the entrance. ‘We don’t […]
Accidents, near misses and non-events
When it comes to learning, one should think carefully about expressions like ‘normal work’, ‘everyday work’, ‘what goes well’ or ‘success’. In a world increasingly becoming focused on measurement, control and reputational risks, positive psychology can easily become a spin. Be gentle, focus on what you can fix and leave the rest. And do not […]
Why we struggle to understand safety culture
Researchers and academics struggle with the notion of (safety) culture. Most begin with defining Culture. They try really hard but the harder they try, the more it tends to slip away. Frustrated by the C word, they start mocking it. Some become bitter and defensive and others replace it with ‘Systems’. And then there are […]
The Assertiveness Paradox – Why don’t people speak up?
In this picture we have seafarers sitting outside the Captain’s deck in the middle of the night. Their reasoning: the Wi-Fi routers on the Crew deck are turned off during the night. ‘We come here to catch phone signal so we can communicate with our families, sir.’ Not only the internet, this rationing also applies […]
Understanding takes
Just last week, I was with a group of ship managers, and I gave them a metaphor ‘𝗺𝗮𝗻-𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗮’. I asked them what words came to their mind when they heard the phrase ‘man-overboard’. One of them responded by listing:1. Panic2. Man-overboard button3. Swift response4. Alert5. Release a buoy6. Public address system7. Orange smoke8. […]
The power of framing
A little Asian boy who lived in the UK once asked his dad, ‘Daddy, why is it that skin plasters are always white in colour?’ Intrigued by his innocence, the dad went straight online searching for coloured plasters. ‘Look here, my boy. There are so many shades of plasters. There is brown, yellow, black and […]
Entering the Hormuz Straits: the power of visual mapping in risk assessment
Last week I invited a group of seafarers to conduct a risk assessment exercise during entering into the Hormuz Straits. Instead of giving them a template for risk assessment, I offered them a visual map. Allow me to unfold their experience and how visual methods can unlock our ability to listen and talk about the […]
Want to become human-centric? Stop visiting ships
‘So, Silvie, when you visit ships … ‘ ‘Nippin, as I said to you, we don’t visit ships. We visit crew members.’ I’ve been coaching Silvie Boyd – a port chaplain – and it was the second time she had warned me against using the phrase ‘ship visits’ to describe her work. This is not […]