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discipline

08
Oct
The Map and the Territory

The Map and the Territory

Every business builds a map. It is a model of how the company believes the world works, how customers behave, how markets move, how value is created. But while the map defines what we think we know, the territory keeps changing.
5 min read
07
Oct
The Empire of Fragility

The Empire of Fragility

Every civilisation that loses the ability, or the will, to maintain its own foundations begins to rot from within. Knowledge becomes doctrine. Craft becomes compliance. The capacity to build fades first in the hands, then in the mind.
5 min read
06
Oct
The Ruthless Landscape: Antifragility Beyond Empathy

The Ruthless Landscape: Antifragility Beyond Empathy

In business, we love the vocabulary of strength. We talk about resilience, toughness, grit, and, thanks to Nassim Nicholas Taleb, antifragility.
6 min read
01
Oct
The Electric Board and the Cost of Cutting Corners: A Story of Engineering, Responsibility, and Recovery

The Electric Board and the Cost of Cutting Corners: A Story of Engineering, Responsibility, and Recovery

What a failing electric board revealed about technical debt, leadership, and the peril of tolerating fragility.
6 min read
29
Sep
Why Change Always Pushes Back: Lessons from Le Chatelier and Lenz

Why Change Always Pushes Back: Lessons from Le Chatelier and Lenz

Change represents a constant tension in every system, whether in physics, chemistry, or organisations. Yet change never proceeds in a linear fashion, nor does it occur without contest.
4 min read
25
Sep
[Book][7.2]Constraint in Design: Architecture, Code, and Systems That Endure

[Book][7.2]Constraint in Design: Architecture, Code, and Systems That Endure

8 min read
23
Sep
Broken Windows and Dysfunctional Teams

Broken Windows and Dysfunctional Teams

In criminology, the broken windows theory suggests that visible signs of disorder, such as a smashed window left unrepaired, invite further disorder. The same pattern applies in organisations.
3 min read
22
Sep
Let Them Fail: The Silent Power of Friction and Limits

Let Them Fail: The Silent Power of Friction and Limits

Most people break because they fight too long for things that refuse to change. At some point, you must let the house burn, and step back a little with your time, your health, and your clarity intact.
5 min read
21
Sep
Expertise Is Overrated. Problem Solving Is Not.

Expertise Is Overrated. Problem Solving Is Not.

A Simple Wire, A Familiar Lesson The other day, I had to extend an electrical wire at home. I am
4 min read
18
Sep
Second Quantisation and the Dual Nature of Organisations

Second Quantisation and the Dual Nature of Organisations

Modern organisations often split reality into two distinct planes: delivery and governance, execution and process, engineering and product. This partition is false. Not just inefficient. False.
4 min read