“The thing about expressing an opinion is that other people might disagree with you. But no-one can disagree with an emotion.” Howard Hodgkin, artist (from memory of a biographical documentary, as I cannot find the exact quote anywhere …)
Author Archives: Peter Runkel
Attribution Error
Fundamental Attribution Error is “the tendency to believe that what people do reflects who they are”, (Wikipedia) that is, to overestimate the role of personality in what they do and underestimate the importance of the situation or context. i.e. if you bump into someone, it is an understandable mistake, if someone else bumps into you,Continue reading “Attribution Error”
Nearly done
I watched the film ‘Garnet’s Gold’ last night. It’s a beautifully shot, gentle and touching portrayal of a man called Garnet Frost. 20 years before, he had got himself lost in the Scottish wilderness where he’d resigned himself to dying. By chance, he’d been saved by a fisherman but had since been haunted by aContinue reading “Nearly done”
Don’t just do it
Do not ‘Just Do It’. Sit down and think about it. Weigh up the pros and cons, and think through the possible risks. Maybe jot these down on a piece of paper. Sleep on it. Then, if it still looks promising in the morning, run a trial, ensuring the conditions are as close to realContinue reading “Don’t just do it”
Success
A television celebrity was being interviewed on the radio the other day and was asked if she felt ‘successful’. She thought about it for a moment, then related a short anecdote about an incident on the bus. A man had complained that her one-year-old daughter had kicked him. In response, the woman had stood upContinue reading “Success”
The three types of people in business
There are three types of people in business: The thinkers The doers And those of us who have got very good at Solitaire Note: Photo from Thomas Lefebvre on Unsplash
Living the dream
The problem with ‘following your dreams’ is that those dreams tend to include all the upsides and none of the challenges. There was an article in the paper about a middle-aged man who lived in his car. He had been a teacher, but had given up the ‘rat race’ to pursue his dream of becomingContinue reading “Living the dream”
‘Attitudes are more important than facts’
A colleague at work once told me a story about his mother. She was in a care home at the time and was getting a bit confused, possibly in part because of the drugs she was on, but she didn’t always know what was happening. He went to visit her regularly and, on this oneContinue reading “‘Attitudes are more important than facts’”
Bon courage
In English we say ‘Good Luck’. The direct translation into French is ‘Bonne Chance’, but I believe they more commonly use the expression ‘Bon Courage’. And I think they might be right. Note: photo from Cecile Hournau on Unsplash
Warmth
We went to an introductory talk on my daughter’s school walking trip to Italy. Part of the presentation was by one of the women who would be leading the group; part was by one of the local, Italian guides. The woman was in charge. She had been doing this for many years and was clearContinue reading “Warmth”
Abstention
I sometimes think we get holidays the wrong way round. It takes us the first week to destress and get into the right frame of mind, then, before we know it, we are thinking about packing up and going home. The sunshine, the food and the freedom we have briefly savoured make returning to theContinue reading “Abstention”
Perfectly imperfect
Some apples look perfect on the outside, but taste of nothing; others might look imperfect, but they taste great.
The importance of substance
I used to work for a small marketing consultancy run by an entrepreneur called Tony. The man had a confidence quite out of proportion to his ability and had an ego that needed constant feeding. “Do you remember the conference I went to the other day?” he told his fellow director, Philip. “They loved me.Continue reading “The importance of substance”
Dunning Kruger
The ‘Dunning-Kruger effect’ describes a cognitive bias which results in incompetent people mistakenly believing they are much more capable than they are. The Wikipedia entry explains that ‘people suffering from the effect: tend to overestimate their own level of skill fail to recognize genuine skill in others and fail to recognize the ‘extremity of theirContinue reading “Dunning Kruger”
Making the effort
Sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to. Sometimes the reward you get from forcing yourself to do something you don’t want to is all the greater precisely because you didn’t want to do it. On this particular Sunday, it had been raining all day. Relentlessly. I had been planning to go forContinue reading “Making the effort”
Off gridders
I am a big fan of these ‘escape the modern world’ programmes. I admire people who turn their backs on the conveniences of modern living to pursue a simpler life and get closer to nature. They give up their televisions, the central heating, the internet, supermarkets etc to live a near subsistence life ‘off grid’.Continue reading “Off gridders”
Stopping and looking
When I went for my run yesterday, I got about half way and then stopped. I did some stretches, to make it feel purposeful, but really I just wanted to stop and look. There was a cool breeze and the spring sun was out. I stood there for ten minutes or so. I watched theContinue reading “Stopping and looking”
Over resilient
I had not worked with Mark before, so did not know what to expect. It did not go well. He had not done his homework for the first call we had with the finance team, so was asking them for data that they had already shared with us and was asking questions which simply weren’tContinue reading “Over resilient”
Feedback
My former boss, Tony, had been reading the online reviews of his company on Glassdoor (an online site for employees to leave feedback on their employer). The reviews were not very flattering. Some of them were downright rude. They did not create a good impression for prospective recruits, Tony had decided, so he’d started addingContinue reading “Feedback”
The queue
I was in a queue in the coffee shop. A very smartly dressed elderly woman walked in and cut across the front of the queue and went to the first available till. There was not an ounce of self-consciousness. She acted as if it were her right. Not one of us in the queue saidContinue reading “The queue”
