Alicia McKay
1 min read
You Can’t Work With What You Can’t See
Put your hand up if you’re ever been a martyr. Walking around carrying an invisible load of resentment, wondering why every other unreasonable...
This week, I've been thinking about the warning signals that something needs to change. It stems from some work I'm doing around change and ambiguity.
It's a work in progress, but here's an early model that sums it up. It's similar to a Cynefin framework, providing a guide about the criteria we should use to make decisions, based on what's going on around us, and how important our decision is.
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When there's low ambiguity and low stakes, we should try new things while it's safe. This is great for hobbies, outfits and activities!
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When there's low ambiguity, but high stakes, we should look for the best solution, rather tham innovating. Here, we should do what's smartest for our wallet, time and big goals. This is usually true for large purchases, career and relationship choices.
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When ambiguity is high, but decision stakes are low, we should keep things on an even keel. There's enough going on. If you're mid restructure and wondering whether to switch gyms or get a dog - don't. Wait.
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When ambiguity is high, and the stakes are high, we should make decisions as small as possible, so we can shift as things change. So, if you're mid restructure and wondering whether to end your marriage... don't blow it up - but don't just let it sit, either. Small steps.
Why Change Makes Things Worse Before It Makes Things Better
I recently received a request from Angela, a Wednesday Wisdom reader, to talk about the immediate impact of organisational change on productivity....
Use your personal compass to make tricky choices
The average person makes 17,000 decisions a day. Most of those are easy, like what to have for breakfast or what time to leave for work, but some are...
How to Lead Change When People Don’t Care
It's hard to lead change when people are too busy and distracted to care.
1 min read
Earn Trust: Engaging for change
Imagine proposing at the first introduction.At the Magiq Conference dinner on Monday night, I had attendees do exactly that, by proposing...
A Certain Type of Man: The Family Man
I’d like to introduce to you: the family man. Not the responsible, fatherly, working class man of popular culture, mind you. A hologram. A cultural...