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Can Scorpions Smoke

Can Scorpions Smoke

Playful with not knowing

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April 23, 2018

Vitamin P deficiency

Every year it seems to happen.  I go through autumn and winter telling myself that I love all of the seasons.  That I enjoy the..

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April 17, 2018

Flat-pack development. The tyranny of lists.

Lists are compelling.  Especially those associated with our own personal development.  And even though I think that, deep down, we know most of the lists..

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March 29, 2018

The smell of analogue – Dialling back digital

This blog was written on an old typewriter.  It was a lovely experience but, if for any reason, you cannot read the image above, there..

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March 12, 2018

What is inexpressible is inexhaustible

In the film adaptation of Dr Seuss’s Horton Hears a Who!, a doubting kangaroo called Jane teaches the children that “If you can’t see, hear..

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February 22, 2018

Resetting ‘normal’: celebrating the power of inexpertise

In 1970 a group of students at the Portsmouth School of Art formed The Portsmouth Sinfonia.  Led by composer Gavin Bryars, the Sinfonia was an..

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February 12, 2018

Seeking or settling? The shadow of self improvement.

Fritz Perls, one of the founders of gestalt psychology once said something like “Those that lives their lives totally focussed on the future never catch..

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January 29, 2018

Stale logic. Fresh intuition.

The moment bread is taken out of the oven it starts to lose its freshness.  It begins the process of going stale.   It strikes me..

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January 22, 2018

Throwing talent into the void. The improvised Concept album

As the audience hush in anticipation I realise that I am witnessing something very special. Something historic. I am at a very intimate gig by..

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January 15, 2018

Bad drawings, telegraph poles and paradoxical learning

In his beautiful book, “The Five Invitations” Frank Ostaseki tells the story of a workshop he was running in the rural North West USA.  Whilst..

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January 8, 2018

Risk and perspective

I no longer make new years resolutions as I’ve nearly always got a new idea that challenges and scares me a little.  Something exciting that..

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December 20, 2017

When brains study brains

Surrealist comedian Emo Philips once said “ I used to think the brain was the smartest organ in the body, until I realised who was..

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December 11, 2017

The no one between two someones

“So, what do you do?” A question that stimulates a rich mix of emotions in me, none of them positive. In my head I can..

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December 5, 2017

Captain Beefheart and his Magic Blog

In 1969 the late Don van Vliet, otherwise known as Captain Beefheart, set out to create an album that was the opposite of music. Intentionally..

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November 28, 2017

The man who loved dragons. When rhetoric meets reality.

Once upon a time there was a man who loved dragons.  He had pictures of dragons on every wall of his house.  He had dragon..

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November 20, 2017

If you can’t fix it, feature it

Ned Crowley had a problem.  Having taken a sabbatical from the world of advertising to make his first feature film he found himself running out..

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November 13, 2017

#FREEART – An experiment in passionate non-attachment

I first came across the concept of “Free Art” in 2011 when my friend Gary Hirsch started giving away Bots – small, unique robots that..

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November 8, 2017

Tools versus Practices – lessons from DIY

I recently organised my DIY tools at home. For far too long they had been stuffed in a cupboard under the stairs which not only..

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August 14, 2017

The Imperfect Portrait Experiment

I’m all too familiar with Imposter Syndrome. The feeling that I am doing something that I really am not qualified to do and that it..

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July 25, 2017

Dancing with my inner critic – TEDx RTW

In February 2016 I wrote a blog about an MI5 style investigation I had began into my inner critic.  I was surprised to receive many e-mails..

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June 21, 2017

Certainty sells, but what’s the exchange rate?

I recently co-facilitated a session at Sadler Heath with Rowan Gray that focussed on our shared interest in not knowing. The morning consisted of a..

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February 11, 2017

Medusa in Reverse – Rehabilitating spontaneity

Head of vile serpents, Avoid her furious gaze, Lest ye turn to stone. Greek legend tells the story of Medusa the Gorgon, a monstrous creature with hair..

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December 14, 2016

Why am I so surprised? The practice of Bearing Witness

I was shocked and surprised when I read the headlines on my phone on the morning of 24th June 2016.  The people of Britain had..

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November 17, 2016

Does your work require earplugs? Protect your creative stereocilia!

Deep in our inner ear are a collection of hair cells called stereocilia.  Like long blades of grass swaying in the wind, they bend back and forth as..

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November 5, 2016

So you want more creativity in the workplace? Are you serious?

As human beings interact with each other they participate in a process of civilising. An ongoing social process of negotiating the norms and cult values*..

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October 10, 2016

Fail…happy. That afternoon with Keith

September 1st 2014 – the deadline I had set myself had finally arrived. Three years earlier I had attended my first week of training with Theatre..

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May 12, 2016

How old do you have to be to do a bad drawing? The lost adventures of Yappy Dog

This is Yappy Dog. A friendly canine who used to go on all sorts of adventures circa 1981-1983.  I’d forgotten all about him until recently when..

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March 4, 2016

Traces, trails and the impermanence of organisings

Although I have experienced 10 leap years during my time on this planet, the 29th February 2016 was the first time I’ve intentionally marked the occasion..

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February 19, 2016

“D-  This blog is not up to standard. Must try harder”  – Investigating our Inner Critic

“I don’t know why you’re bothering to write this blog Steven.  You might get one or two positive comments from loyal friends but overall people..

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November 19, 2015

120 seconds – Stillness in a corporate space

A gentle voice over the public address system interrupted the hubbub announcing that it was 11 o’clock and, all of a sudden, the world around me..

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October 19, 2015

Fertile vs. Fruitful – Does cash stifle creative experimentation?

“How’s business?” I was surprised that this simple inquiry had stumped me.  Thinking that I’d not understood the question, the friendly pixelated face on Skype said..

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June 30, 2015

Trout starvation and silent contracts: On networks versus communities

I’ve never been that fond of conferences. I remember right back at the beginning of my corporate career the familiar cycle of excitement and anticipation..

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June 6, 2015

Meeting Mormo. Refreshing the parts other masks cannot reach.

I noticed I was feeling rather anxious as the weekend of 16th May approached.  I’ve learnt over the years that, even if my head tells..

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April 9, 2015

Awareness, application and a worrying stuckness in personal development

In 1334, the Duchess of Tyrol encircled the castle of Hochosterwitz, a stronghold built on a steep rock and impenetrable to direct attack. The Duchess..

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January 30, 2015

“Creative” versus “Creating”: Lessons from the Elders of Surrey

Even though I use it on a daily basis, I find the word “creative” to be a little problematic in helping people and organisations to..

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January 12, 2015

Org charts and the Underground: The map is not the territory

I’m a fan of London and one of my favourite activities in the city is to walk. I try to walk everywhere if at all possible and it is through many years of doing this that I’ve got to know how the different parts of the city join up.

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December 11, 2014

Lose the first reel! Start before you’re ready

I used to be a serial procrastinator!  I admit that I still put  things off rather than do them right away, but my procrastination nowadays..

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November 24, 2014

Stop thinking outside the box! All you need is NOW!

I feel slightly reluctant to challenge the much used creativity/innovation mantra “think outside the box” as I’m sure it has helped many people to break..

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July 17, 2014

The Thing! A blog about valuing process over performance.

This is a thing.  It is a happy thing, but a thing nonetheless.   Because it is a thing, you can pick it up, move..

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June 6, 2014

Exaggerate! Personal development lessons from cars and choirs

Many, many years ago I fell in love with an old Alfa Romeo Spider.  I’d never really been that much into cars, nor did I..

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April 1, 2014

Busking Book Launch: Absolutely terrible or a little awkward?

Whilst I find it much easier nowadays to come up with creative ideas I feel I’ve still a lot of work to do on getting better..

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March 17, 2014

Lifts and laptops – The problem with virtual meetings

I like to regard myself as being pro-digital and try my best to keep up with the latest innovations.  I use Evernote as my virtual..

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December 18, 2013

Beautiful Imperfection

I wish I could draw like a 6 year old.   It is a personal development goal I take very seriously.  People who know me..

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December 4, 2013

The “F” word and the difference between role play and real play

I am slightly concerned that I am becoming a bit of a hypocrite!  Either that or I am simply becoming more aware of a subtle..

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September 19, 2013

Death of the doodle – Does a digital age scrub out the scribbles?

Over the last 12 months I’ve been working with a number of corporate graduate groups – bright young things, early to mid 20s with boundless..

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July 23, 2013

“No” Kills Children! Preserve your “Yes” family tree.

A couple of months ago I found myself on stage at the London Comedy Store with seasoned Improviser and TV/film star Neil Mullarkey, giving a..

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June 24, 2013

Bob Bromley’s Big Problem – A blog on innovation inspired by Dr Seuss

Bob Bromley was an important man, he wore an important tie He worked in important offices that were way up in the sky His company..

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June 7, 2013

Leap then look: How long is your “look first list”?

I’ve recently become intrigued by the phrase “leap then look” – a twist on the sage advice to “look before you leap” and a way..

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May 22, 2013

The dynamic dance of status (featuring the cast of Jaws)

One of my favourite films of all time is Jaws. I remember seeing it for the first time when I was probably too young to..

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April 22, 2013

What can coffee shop trainees and corporate talent shows teach us about identity and community?

I’ve not blogged for a few weeks now as I’ve been dedicating my writing time to drafting further chapters of my book.  This means that..

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March 19, 2013

From the Subs Bench to the Olympic Ice – How the present moment changes everything

I admit to not knowing very much at all about Turkish football.  However, I recently heard a story on the radio about the footballer Ilhan..

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March 3, 2013

The Giraffe Project

On 3rd September 2012, as I walked from the south to the north side of the Thames via Hungerford Bridge, I realised that I was..

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February 22, 2013

Conversational fat content and social inoculations – How healthy is your dialogue?

It can be problematic to confuse simple with easy. To me simple means something that is direct, precise and minimalist whereas easy is the degree..

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February 1, 2013

The paving slab of certainty – The downside of well ingrained commuting habits

I’ve been commuting into London on a regular basis now for around 4 years. Despite occasional delays and frustrations I do actually enjoy it. I..

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January 28, 2013

The Pet Shop – Taking the power of play seriously

One of the great things about working in a home office is that my creativity mentor, my 5-year-old daughter, sometimes pops in to see me and..

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January 21, 2013

Melted borders and inconsistent Grandmas – Talking creativity with chef Eric Gower

I love the question “I wonder what would happen if…?”   Having spent many years procrastinating or finding logical reasons as to why to say..

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January 11, 2013

“It’s not you, it’s me!” Whose emotion is it anyway?

In corporate life it seems to me that something odd happens when we enter the space that contains what we perceive and label as ‘work’. ..

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January 8, 2013

Time to think about time? A chronos versus kairos perspective of corporate life

My 5 1/2-year-old daughter really wanted to stay up to watch the New Year’s Eve fireworks on TV.  She determinedly fought tiredness and was very..

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December 16, 2012

One big adventure: How a simple metaphor has inspired my year

As I reflect on 2012, the year I started this blog, the year I decided to give my own business a go, the year I..

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December 9, 2012

Organisations = social improvisations. A lesson from Spongebob Squarepants

I’m a big advocate of the value that the skills of performance improvisation can bring to the corporate world and know many others that share..

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November 29, 2012

Living life in slow motion – being deeply curious about literally everything!

Last weekend I had an unexpected emergency operation to remove my appendix that had become dangerously inflamed.  I consider myself lucky that, aged almost 40,..

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November 19, 2012

The demise of the curious question?

A consultant I know recently asked me to help him come up with an ‘icebreaker’ for a workshop he was running. He’d previously attended one..

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November 12, 2012

Boiling Cabbage – the pitfalls of being overly reductionist

Imagine you go to a party. You spend the evening chatting with old friends and meeting new friends. You eat, drink and dance. You exchange..

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November 3, 2012

Say YES – because Everything’s an Offer

There’s always a lot of scaffolding in London. There’s less now than just before the Olympic games but there is still a lot. There are..

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October 29, 2012

Art through the eyes of a 5 year old – Another lesson from my creativity mentor

I’ve long been fascinated by the artwork of young kids.  I often say to people “I wish I could draw like a 5 year old”..

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October 22, 2012

One person walks onto a bare stage: A helpful start point for Organisation Design?

You may be familiar with the swan analogy.  You know, the one that people use to describe how their apparent calmness and gracefulness belies the..

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October 13, 2012

CPR for the imagination

I’ve always been slightly underwhelmed by innovation. That isn’t completely true – I’ve been blown away by innovations themselves but have been consistently underwhelmed by..

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October 2, 2012

Meet Pluggy – My Creative Anchor

It was through an act of technological desperation that I discovered the power of a creative anchor!  It was probably the tenth time that somebody..

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September 21, 2012

Procrastination – the mortal enemy of creativity

At least three times a week I walk from Waterloo station, over the Thames at Hungerford foot bridge and zig-zag up through the streets to..

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September 18, 2012

Corporate gossip vs human interaction

I’ve written a couple of times before about Keith Johnstone, the theatre director who felt that the talented actors he worked with at the Royal..

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September 12, 2012

Behind the mask – a short story about identity, status and dressing up as a 6′ 5″ lion

Around 2 years ago I decided to say “Yes” more to ensure that I regularly step out of my comfort zone and into my experimental..

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July 19, 2012

A lesson from my creativity mentor

Those of you that have seen my conference talks will know that my 5 year old daughter is my creativity mentor. A long time ago..

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May 29, 2012

When the concrete ends – you’ve arrived

I spent this weekend in the middle of nowhere, up a mountain in Spain with 50 other folk who hadn’t met each other before but..

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May 21, 2012

Be Obvious! Be Altered!

Be obvious – be altered! Since my two worlds of organisation consulting and improvisation started to overlap around 3 years ago I’ve drawn many lessons..

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May 19, 2012

Strictly come shuffling – Bringing more improv into conference design

A new blog on designing conferences with more space for spontaneous conversation that I wrote for my lovely friends at Relume can be found here:..

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March 20, 2012

“Airplane Mode” – downtime for creative minds

I had a dream on Sunday night that may have changed my life. Well, it has changed me for the last couple of days since..

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March 9, 2012

Obsessing about furniture!

I seem to spend a lot of my time, whilst designing workshops or group sessions, thinking about furniture. In fact, the room, the environment, the..

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March 1, 2012

Painting your unique masterpiece

I have a love-hate relationship with one of my favourite books. I love it because it is fabulous, makes me smile and inspires me to..

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February 23, 2012

Long-form Organisation Development

 A slightly longer blog this week to explore some slightly longer ideas!  A couple of weeks back I had the privilege of spending the weekend..

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February 16, 2012

Taking our own experiencing seriously

I’m often asked the question “How do you apply x to your work?” and have long found the question strangely puzzling.  I think part of..

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February 9, 2012

Make it worse…make it worse!

For no reason whatsoever, other than childlike curiosity, I’ve become interested in a new mantra of “Make it worse…make it worse!” as a way of..

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February 3, 2012

JAM!

I spent yesterday hanging around in a factory. Something I find fascinating and enjoy doing and something I’ve done many times before. The day before..

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January 28, 2012

The Powerpoint Pendulum

It’s cool to say “I hate Powerpoint” at the moment.  If you have a presentation to make you get kudos for saying “I don’t need..

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January 15, 2012

Hedgehogs

My 4.5 year old daughter woke up in the middle of the night and called for me.  Normally this is because she’s cold, thirsty or..

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January 1, 2012

So can scorpions smoke?

My Masters dissertation on improv in business was entitled “Can Scorpions Smoke?” – a question that came from a particularly blank moment I had in..

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RECENT BLOGS

  • Vitamin P deficiency

    Vitamin P deficiency

    April 23, 2018
  • Flat-pack development.  The tyranny of lists.

    Flat-pack development. The tyranny of lists.

    April 17, 2018
  • The smell of analogue – Dialling back digital

    The smell of analogue – Dialling back digital

    March 29, 2018
  • What is inexpressible is inexhaustible

    What is inexpressible is inexhaustible

    March 12, 2018
  • Resetting ‘normal’:  celebrating the power of inexpertise

    Resetting ‘normal’: celebrating the power of inexpertise

    February 22, 2018
  • Seeking or settling?  The shadow of self improvement.

    Seeking or settling? The shadow of self improvement.

    February 12, 2018
  • Stale logic. Fresh intuition.

    Stale logic. Fresh intuition.

    January 29, 2018
  • Throwing talent into the void.  The improvised Concept album

    Throwing talent into the void. The improvised Concept album

    January 22, 2018

POPULAR BLOGS

  • The man who loved dragons.  When rhetoric meets reality.

    The man who loved dragons. When rhetoric meets reality.

    November 28, 2017
  • The Imperfect Portrait Experiment

    The Imperfect Portrait Experiment

    August 14, 2017
  • Dancing with my inner critic – TEDx RTW

    Dancing with my inner critic – TEDx RTW

    July 25, 2017
  • So you want more creativity in the workplace? Are you serious?

    So you want more creativity in the workplace? Are you serious?

    November 5, 2016
  • “D-  This blog is not up to standard. Must try harder”  – Investigating our Inner Critic

    “D-  This blog is not up to standard. Must try harder”  – Investigating our Inner Critic

    February 19, 2016
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