I can’t properly attribute it because I can’t recall where I read or heard the concept of ‘life is improvisation’.

It’s stuck with me, though, because I tend towards schedules and structure and lists and processes, with goals and outcomes.

It’s stuck with me, because as the song goes, there’s “no dress rehearsal, this is our life”*.

But of course, life is one big improvisation. Things don’t always go to plan. Perhaps they rarely do. We can have plans and structure, but we’re also constantly improvising. And as I read or heard, wherever it was, good improvisation needs practise too.

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*(I can and will credit that song lyric, it’s from “Ahead by a Century”, Tragically Hip. …. and I’d better, because any Canadian Hip fans out there will call me on it.).

For every rule, there are exceptions. We learn about this for the English language (“i before e except after c); we learn this in math (statistics, imaginary numbers, LaPlace Transforms).

In many things (height, test results, random events) there is a bell curve, with most results in the middle (average), and tails on each end which are the ‘exceptions’.

So a perplexing problem is whether to make rules for the norm, or for the exception.

And the answer is changes depending on the context. Rules for recording data is one thing; rules for battling a pandemic are something else completely.

Online databases for knowledge management are useful and important. Being able to find information quickly is just expected. Similarly, a structured filing and folder system for your own information and knowledge that you keep online is even more important. But it’s not quite the same as an actual library.

I remember getting lost in the library stacks. Browsing for a book in the library or bookstore is a very different experience to searching an online database. In the tangible world of books-on-shelves, there’s the unexpected delight of a subject-adjacent book that you weren’t looking for. That doesn’t happen in databases.

It’s a ubiquitous goal to have ‘good communication’ in a business, or as a personal skill. It shows up in business strategies, leadership development, and plain old-fashioned meetings.

Like many concepts, communication is context specific.

When talking about ‘improving communications’, keep in mind the context. There are four aspects to consider: verbal or written, and informal or formal.

• Verbal/informal = small talk, networking

• Verbal/formal = speeches, presentations

• Written/informal = email, instant chats

• Written/formal = reports, papers.

Just referring to ‘improve communication’ isn’t enough. Each of the above concepts requires a different strategy for improvement, if they really are so bad.

Sorting through the enormous amount of documentation we receive gives everyone a headache. Most of the time, it doesn’t get done well.

Well, it’s never going to be less. In fact, it will only probably grow to be more. So rather than wishing it would stop, we need to tame the beast that is information management, on our own.

Companies spend enormous amounts on IT systems, document control systems, and knowledge management databases. These are useful in their own context. But to win at knowledge management, and to lead by demonstrating productivity, have an information management system of your own.

We are social beings. It doesn’t matter what controls or restrictions are put on us, eventually we will default to being social.

I had the fortunate opportunity tonight to re-connect socially with colleagues this evening, as social events slowly and cautiously kick off again.

The underlying ‘joy’ of the event reminded me that while screen-based interactions are a reasonable substitute, it will never replace the real thing.

We need eye contact, we need body language, we need the frisson of connection that happens when souls meet. This is the strength of human interaction. We will do it with abandon again.

When faced with overwhelm and burnout, simplify. Easier said than done, I know.

A good practise for simplification is to spend some time thinking about categories or structure. This helps simplify some of the overwhelm.

For example, some categories of uncertainty itself include:

• Situation – when the uncertainty is outside your direct control

• Information – when you have incomplete or dubious data

• Decision – being faced with decisions which can be right, wrong, or neutral

• Behaviour – having to consider whether “they” (others) will do the right thing.

Categorising brings some structure and certainty, which can help to narrow down the issue towards resolution.

I wonder if we’re moving from demonstration by outputs (design drawings, reports, calculations, costings, structures), to simple declarations about what should happen.

It’s fairly easy to assert expectations:

• “Our principles are a-b-c”;

• “Doing ‘x’ could contribute $65B to annual revenue”;

• “We will collaborate with all stakeholders”.

These declarations are important, to a point. They are empty if there is no demonstrable facts, knowledge, or evidence behind the declarations.

• “A-b-c” principles must be demonstrated through behaviours and outcomes.

• “Doing x” needs design data, real costings, provable results.

• “Collaborating with all stakeholders” almost never happens, so declaring it is fraught with disappointment.

Many years ago, a fashion fad existed with ‘reversible’ items of clothing: shirts, skirts, jackets. It gave you two outfits with one buy. I owned a reversible jacket that was purple on one side and had some bright yellow on the other. (It was the 80s, what can I say).

If something’s reversible, you can switch it, without significant consequences. When it’s irreversible (like just about all clothes nowadays), reversing has consequences.

Think about decisions in that context and make reversible decisions quickly. Take more time on the irreversible ones. The hard part is knowing how reversible it really is.

I’m currently wrestling with the inevitable change in eyesight, which happens to most of us at a certain age. I’m also convinced it has something to do with months spent looking at a computer screen instead of looking into a room and varying depth-of-field adjustments.

The subsequent fixing process has forced me a couple of times to briefly go without any eyesight correction at all. The inability to see details made me very uncomfortable, cautious, and nervous.

In a mental leap to applying this to leadership at work, having clear vision helps take away so much uncertainty about the details.

It doesn’t take much to acknowledge someone or something. I really miss getting on the bus via the front door: in Brisbane during the pandemic, we’ve been getting on the bus via the back door, which means it’s not easy or natural to say hello to the driver. Just the acknowledgement and eye contact: I see you. I’ve gotten used to calling out “good morning” on arrival and “thank you” on departure. The acknowledgement is important.

It’s the same with work deliverables, work well done, work mates, service providers, and passers-by: any acknowledgement will do. And it’s simple and free.

It’s common to hear the statement “hire attitude, we can teach them ability”. Or, ‘check capabilities, we can sort out competence’. Good mannerisms mean good employee.

That’s mostly true. But if your strategy is “attitude over ability”, I’d expect to see a corresponding solid, unwavering onboarding and induction procedure alongside.

Hiring someone who behaves well, but who is not supported in developing their ability, is poor business. A ‘hire behaviour’ policy requires a solid, unwavering training budget that is never questioned.

Hiring for attitudes and behaviour make sense, but don’t assume that means they’ll just do the work as expected.

There’s a lot of intent and possibility in the question “what happened?”.

If it’s being asked, then something must’ve happened. And that must mean there’s a story to tell.

Many business books explain the importance of storytelling in business. Using stories is an effective way to get the point across, develop empathy, or connect with teammates or subordinates.

We also need to get better at describing ‘what happened’ for technical or project-based events. Developing skills to communicate “what happened” on projects, and research, as engaging stories will help us to communicate the achievements and innovations that happen on every project.

Yes, we know there is more to life than work. But there’s an awful lot of ‘other stuff’ to pay attention to, other than work, so keeping it all straight can be just like work.

Cal Newport (writer of the books Deep Work, Digital Minimalism, and soon to be published A World Without Email) proposes four ‘buckets’ to life:

• Community (family, friends)

• Craft (work and quality leisure)

• Constitution (health) and

• Contemplation (matters of the soul)

These categories are good way to narrow down the overwhelm in life. In each category, commit to doing one valuable thing consistently for that category.

A thesaurus I checked showed that the words sceptic and cynic are synonyms. I’m not sure I agree that they are the same.

Both words describe someone who questions what they are hearing, perhaps putting up arguments against it.

But I think a person can be a sceptic without being a cynic. A sceptic is inquisitive, and curious, leaning towards seeking more information. Other descriptions include utilising suspended judgement, or systematic investigation.

A cynic has gone beyond questioning, leaning quickly towards negativity, distrust, and questioning motives.

We should be able to be sceptical without being categorised automatically as a cynic.

I made the joke recently, after someone wrote January 15, 2020 as the date. I remarked, we’re actually in 2021, though nothing’s changed. Boom-boom.

I think it’s dawning on many of us that 2021 might not be all that different from 2020. Uncertainty will prevail, and inconveniences, unexpected changes, and tolerance will continue to be key features of life in 2021.

Always Be Kind. With disruption comes unrecognisable patterns, unpredictability, and loss of confidence. Our social lives have gotten smaller during this time, and we’re not interacting with each other as much anymore. But when we do, first, be kind.

If you are learning and gaining experience, and you’re given the option to either a) get more experience in it or b) reflect, articulate and codify the experience already accumulated, instincts say you’d choose a) practise more.

I would’ve.

But some research* shows, counterintuitively, that “reflection and review” of past experience is a superior mode of learning and ‘bedding in’, for some types of knowledge anyway. I was completely surprised by that finding.

So, ‘reflection’ on nascent knowledge is better than more experience with it. Structured reflection with a mentor or coach is more valuable than taking another training course.

“Money just makes the important stuff easy … so [instead] we try to make the unimportant stuff hard, …. just to make it feel like we're not coasting.”

Firstly, that’s a good observation, and true.

But secondly, about quotes and their sources.

I had that quote scribbled down, without attribution. Rather than repeat it unattributed, I instead put it into the big-G search engine.

So now, because I found it, I have to credit the writers of the Netflix series, “The Politician”. A character in the first episode said it.

No judgements about the source… it’s still a profound quote.

When a house, or high rise, is being built, there is temporary scaffolding put in place to support the structure while it’s under construction.

When roadworks are underway, there is often a temporary detour to direct traffic (and cyclists like me) around the disruption, for convenience of the workers and safety of the public.

There are many examples of temporary inconveniences. They may not look good in the moment, or not nearly resemble the final outcome. But they are there for a reason, and they are only temporary. Time spent disliking something temporary is not a good use of time.

Every so often I come across a word that I’m sure I know the meaning of, but actually maybe not quite.

Glean is one of those words. I was asked, ‘what did you glean from that resource?’, and I thought, weird word, then answered with what I had ‘gotten’ or ‘surmised’ from it.

It does mean “obtain information”, though it originated from gathering grain after the harvest.

But also now: ‘….obtain from various sources, often with difficulty’.

And it’s true: sometimes we have to – and should - go to various sources, and also overcome difficulty, to glean the needed information.