I like big bold questions. They inspire, and provoke a different way of thinking. For me, there is nowhere better to apply this type of thinking than to the place where you live. ‘How do you create the greatest place on earth to live?’ is the question I spend much of my time thinking upon. […]
10x Thinking
By November 6, 2013 15 Comments
To me, one company stands out as most impressive in the world right now for its way of thinking. Not for its achievements today (although hugely influential), but for the impact its way of thinking will have on our collective futures.That company is Google. Their way of thinking is what they like to call ‘10x […]
The 4 Minute Mile
By October 9, 2013 9 Comments
In the last week I have spent time at some remarkable outlier education institutions: Singularity University, Uncollege and School of Communication Arts 2.0. They are all defying conventional wisdom yet delivering far, far more than conventional providers. They are all part of my continuing research to explore the edges of human potential with a view […]
Privacy is Dead. Long Live Transparency!
By September 25, 2013 10 Comments
I grew up in a small island community, where everybody knew one another and privacy did not really exist. I often joke about how this accident of upbringing provided me with great training for the future. Privacy is a relatively recent thing. Long before we started to cut ourselves off from each other in our […]
Who is up for a big bold adventure in 2014?
By September 18, 2013 2 Comments
2013 has been an incredible year for me. The best yet, by far. It all started in a pub in London in the run up to Christmas 2012, when a mischievous comment about changing the world sparked off an extraordinary journey of personal discovery. The challenge was to try and see if it was possible […]
Why Burning Man is Changing the World
By September 11, 2013 9 Comments
Trying to explain the Burning Man event to someone who has not been is like trying to explain a colour to a blind person. You just have to see with your own eyes to fully understand it. What goes on there is pretty hard to explain without underplaying the experience. So for that reason I […]
The 2 reasons why most religions are technically and organisationally flawed
By August 25, 2013 10 Comments
I am not going to debate on the right and wrong of each religion. I am merely going to throw out a provocation about the structures and underlying technology behind many religions. I am doing this not to trivialise them, but to provide a platform for a different kind of debate. If this debate progresses, […]
Why I think Bill Gates is wrong about Google
By August 19, 2013 12 Comments
There is a fascinating debate going on right now that will genuinely impact millions, if not billions, of people. It is something I am really passionate about, so I wanted to take the time to share my view on it. Bill Gates has recently criticised Google’s approach to philanthropy – in particular, one of their […]
There is Always Another Idea Around The Corner
By July 31, 2013 1 Comment
Ideas are everything and everywhere. Sometimes they are priceless, but they can also be worthless. The trick is to recognise which is which, for you. Many of us treat ideas as possessions worth holding onto – closely guarded secrets we must protect from others. Just look at the craziness of intellectual property issues! It amazes […]
You Cannot Get a Turkey to Innovate – Let Alone Vote for Christmas
By June 26, 2013 1 Comment
I am often asked to help organisations to innovate. The very notion of organising innovation appeals to the mischief-maker in me. ‘Improvement’ and ‘innovation’ are often confused. Improvement, to me, is a construction process, whereas innovation is a rebuilding process. To rebuild something, you have to knock something down. And that is where the turkeys […]