Posted: | Categories: learning in public
My favourite TED talk is “Do schools kill creativity?” by Sir Ken Robinson. I’m not alone as it is the most viewed TED talk. The first time I watched it, I loved the performance of Sir Ken Robinson and the humour. But, the main message was not resonating: I was not a dad (yet!) Today, I’m the very proud dad of two boys and my oldest started school. Now the fear of losing the creative genius in all kids is real. Read more...
Posted: | Categories: learning in public
NB: I am taking some creative license in the first sentence, it is not as catastrophic as I make is sound :) The plan is to clean the house, and with two kids of 6 and 3, I just looked around, felt powerless and “Where do I start?”. Instinctively, I (wrongly) want to batch tasks, like putting all the stuff in the dish-washer, taking a plate from here, forks from there etcetera. Read more...
Posted: | Categories: learning in public
I am reading Creativity, Inc. and one of the considerations (out of many) is how many business books try to convince with slogans that sound true, like focus, focus, focus, but miss to provide the reader with the implementation aspects. They stay in the fluff. Most business books (and this blog) fall into such trap, so I will focus on the first three books, coming to mind, that are doing it right. Read more...
Posted: | Categories: learning in public
My biggest fear for after COVID19 is to walk on a street where all the shops are of well-known brands, standardised, sanitised and, providing near-identical experiences. My biggest fear for after COVID19 is a loss of originality and choice. My favourite restaurants are the ones where you enter, you are seated, and there is no menu. You do not have a choice, everyone eats the same, and it changes every day, and it is always amazing. Read more...
Posted: | Categories: learning in public
I used to work in the office with most of my team; this has the great benefit of being able to feel the mood of the people, see how busy they are, and have unplanned meetings or one-to-one when needed. Impossible to do now that we are all working from remote. So here are my from-the-field findings. Context Meeting face-to-face is now on hold due to the lockdown (I hope it will come back soon) and the Allen curve tells us that communication stops as soon as people are 8 meters apart. Read more...
Posted: | Categories: learning in public
I love wine, but like most people, I cannot recognise most wines by smell, color or even name. I know some of them and that’s it. That basic knowledge of mine, which allows me to look very French is all coming from a book: Wine A Tasting Course: Every Class in a Glass cover Wine A Tasting Course: Every Class in a Glass cover ps: I do get some money if you buy using the link provided in this page, thank you. Read more...
Posted: | Categories: learning in public
When in lockdown, we are in a once-in-a-lifetime situation (hopfully) and it is the perfect time to try some new things. The one thing I recommend you to try is getting bored. Try for some time to avoid your phone and books, just exists, sited on the sofa and wait. This is will create some space in your mind (headspace) that your brain will want to fill with new things called ideas. Read more...
Posted: | Categories: learning in public
In the service world, catering is the one with the most experience. Restaurants have been around since the antiquity, competition is never-ending, and customers are very demanding. For those reasons, paying attention to how restaurants do things is enlightening. In this case, my team manages the full lifecycle of customers, from welcoming them (aka onboarding), to delivering the day-to-day activities, reporting, all while improving the quality of the service. How much effort (in proportion) should go into each activity is critical to happy customers and P&L. Read more...
Posted: | Categories: learning in public
I hear people saying “I am not creative”. Well, let me share a secret, creativity is knowledge in disguise. The more you read (acquire knowledge) on different topics, or on the same topic but multiple books, the more your brain will have dots of information. What a mind is excellent at is connecting the dots already in your mind to achieve an objective. Start adding dots to your collection. Let me know if you need help choosing books. Read more...
Posted: | Categories: learning in public
Following on the previous security article I want to talk about 2 factor authentication. 2FA (as it is also known) is a 2 level of security on top of the usual username and password. In the James Bond movies it usually is eye scan, dna or simply fingerprint. Well in the real world, if 2FA is enable on your account, after entering a username and password, you will be sent something on your mobile phone to validate that yes, not only you know the username and password, but you also have access to something personal and physical. Read more...