Teach, don't read the slides
People hand a workshop teacher the things they can't get back — time, energy, attention. On why running one is teaching, not facilitating, and the craft that difference demands.
Learning & Practice
Habits and compounding practice — small actions that build lasting capability over time. Essays here explore learning, resilience, personal development, and the disciplines that compound.
Was it worth it?
On why we confuse shipping with value, and the three questions Henry James asked of any work - the last of which almost nobody asks.
LinkedIn is terrible for newsletters
I set out to post one small idea about creativity every day for a month. LinkedIn killed it on day six. Here are the thirty that survived — free to read.
Cornell Note-Taking Method: Boring but effective
I discovered the Cornell Note-Taking Method over a decade ago and promptly ignored it. It sounded dull and academic. Then I tried it properly. I have not really stopped since.
You still can't play the drums
There are two ways to learn anything: taking in information, and doing the thing. On why you need both, and why a teacher beside you beats either.
The person who was already ready
She'd been doing most of the job for a year. They hired someone in over her - the following day she updated her CV.
The Commonplace Book: Building a Personal Library for Thinking
For many years I have kept a notebook I call my commonplace book. It is not a diary, not a planner, not a system for getting things done. It is a personal library for thinking — a place where ideas wait until they are needed.
A date at the top, and honesty underneath
Journaling on an Iron Age hill fort, wild ponies wandering past. Not a diary of events — a thinking partner, and a leadership one too. On paper over screens, the friction that makes it work, and why an honest map beats a beautiful one.
Malcolm knew everything
I once worked with a man who was an expert at everything and had done none of it. On why most training leaves people knowing more and doing exactly the same — and what actually changes behaviour.
Notes Are for Thinking
Good note-taking is not about recording the past. It is a tool for thinking in the present — shaping attention, learning, and judgment as work unfolds.
Mr Freaking Furious
In 2006 a stranger at a conference told me how much he hated his life — his job, his boss, probably the sandwiches. On the difference between succeeding and thriving, and why thriving is something you choose rather than something that accumulates.