ChanceySpace

As a leader, one quick way to lose people is to assume you understand what motivates them or even worse, to have an expectation that they should be motivated in a way that is convenient for you. The reason many leaders fall into this trap is because they want control. They want to know what buttons to push in order to get you to do what they want. You will notice that these leaders are often the most frustrated, most distant, and most openly disappointed with your “performance”. The strongest sense of motivation comes from within, the way you tap into that is by providing a clear vision for which you would like them to contribute and you make it your mission to ensure they have the right environment around them in order to make their best contributions. If you pay close attention you will begin to understand the motivations and passions of the people that work for you and rather than trying to control them, you can make adjustments to their environment to help them hit new levels. ...

Disclaimer:  I voted to remain.  I am a member of the LibDems.  I would like to see Jo Swinson as our next PM I would still like to see Britain remain in the EU. I also think we should leave the EU.  Contradictory... Not really...  The EU is broken. It is an extremely undemocratic institution that couldn’t be more culturally incompatible with classical British liberal values if it tried. I detest what it has become and it needs to be stopped and reformed. There, I said it. Even though I wanted to remain.  You see, Britain has never been a particularly collectivist culture - as it has always put emphasis on the sovereignty of individuals (as far back as Magna Carta)... Give me a topic to debate and two Britons, and I can comfortably guarantee you an argument.  Britons do not follow the herd, they are prepared to voice their opinion and will happily stand alone if they believe that is the right thing to do. Europeans, on the oth...

Working at a high growth startup that is moving at a million miles an hour is a lot of fun. It is also a lot of hard work... For startups, the 'hard work' bit is rarely a problem. Most people join startups because they are passionate about the mission and are often emboldened by the odds that are stacked against them. Startup people are typically very accountable, positive and predisposed to high levels of ownership. This really helps when you need to get a lot of stuff done. As a startup begins to scale though, culture becomes increasingly important. With new people joining all of the time and often the new outnumbering the old, it is important to have a strong understanding of the cultural values you want to persist. This is not a trivial thing to achieve.  How do you establish a benchmark in a sea of rapid change -both in your marketplace and employee base?  Most company cultures are anchored in some thing . Most com...

Put labels on boxes of things and jars of food but keep your labels away from me... Your labels will not describe me, they will not explain my love; my sorrow; my passion or my indifference.  Your labels limit me. Your labels isolate me.  I will disagree with you. I will upset you.  I will make mistakes.  I will misunderstand. And I will frustrate.  But keep your labels away from me. I will apologise. I will empathise. I will make amends. I will learn. And I will love.  So keep your labels away from me. Labels create hate.  Labels create confusion. Labels fuel intolerance. And they will divide us.  Please, keep your labels away from me.  Yours Faithfully, A version of humanity (2018) #Brexit #Bremain

Because I am shrinking violet that enjoys a quiet and uncontroversial life, I made a video about Brexit.  My intent with this video is to provide an understanding of our current state of play with Brexit and look at the UK's options. I do this through the lens of a person who wants to remain in the EU but sympathises with the Leave vote.  As a classical free-market economist and a liberal, I take plenty of issues with what the EU has become. I agree with many of the rational 'leave' criticisms but obviously, have a difference of opinion on the solution...  I uploaded the video earlier today without publicising it on any social media platforms and as I type, there are nearly 40 comments already... oops :-) Feel free to get involved in the discussion . The video is also posted below for convenience but you won't be able to read or write comments to the video - click through to YouTube for that. 

One of the biggest objections people have to the idea of a fair society is that it often gets confused with the idea that everyone should be equal.  However, people who champion fairness in society rarely expect total and unilateral equality (Marxists are a notable exception to this rule and moreover, an oddity in intellectual curiosity.... but that's an entirely different blog post altogether),  Where was I... oh yes... fairness.   Champions of fairness in society are really gunning for a concept referred to as 'equal opportunity'. These terms are easy to muddle up in theoretical conversations (and social media bun fights) but they are actually two very different beasts. It's akin to asking Boris Johnson and Michael Johnson to race over 200m and expecting a tie simply because they both have 'Johnson' in their names.  So, what is the difference? I will use an analogy to try and share my understanding of this... My children, Amélie and Sebby, wil...

"White House is investigating Google after Donald Trump claims bias" Bias can be a problem in all aspects of society - both in humans (conscious and unconscious) and in algorithms (engineered and learned). Whilst I think this is an area that warrants further research -particularly into algorithms- it concerns me when the state decides it wants to try and police bias. Unconscious Bias in people and learned bias in algorithms is an extremely difficult thing to identify with any certainty due to the number of variables (along with the interpretation of context) that affect decision making.