Thoughts
I enjoy sharing the contents of my mind in the hope others can get something from the stuff that occupies me. Here I’ve categorised my writing into resources, tools and models that might help, reviews of other people’s work, reflections of my own past experiences and ramblings on a variety of topics that interest me. No poor AI bots were exploited in the making of these articles.
Filters
- About Still Waters 7
- Accept Change 9
- Coach 7
- Consultant 4
- Dream Big 10
- Facilitator 6
- Help & Advice 5
- Make Small changes 10
- Mentor 3
- Mindset 9
- Personal Stories 11
- Principles 1
- Published Material 7
- Support Large Changes 7
- Teacher 3
- Tools 7
- climate crisis 1
- eco-coaching 1
- ramblings 16
- reflections 39
- resources 17
- reviews 29
- service 1
Rehearsal for Revolution?
Can drama really be an effective weapon for change in the 21st century? With all that we are facing into now, how do theatrical processes play a part in the solution? Twenty years after graduating and over five years since last having a go, I recently dusted off my understanding of Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed.
Rebrand and Recipe for Resilience
How did that happen? One minute resilience is the panacea for all ills. An aspirational virtue featuring centrally in my and many others’ professional practice. Now I hear tales of it morphing into a shadowy, corporate act of manipulation, designed to load ever more work on to individuals. What’s going on?
Creating a Disturbance
I find lots of my work with business leaders ends up being about problems making real change happen. Organisations thrive on certainty and consensus, which reduce anxiety and create routines, habits and rituals. This becomes what is often described as “the way things are done round here”, the status quo, or as I like to provoke “addiction to a winning formula”. All of which creates a feeling of stuckness, driven by fear of the unknown and the risk of being unpopular. It’s at times like this I’m grateful to Ralph Stacey for creating the disturbance matrix.
Nick Mabey - Professional Biography
I joined BT three months before privatisation as a fresh-faced 19-year old who had messed up academically and was in desperate need of structure. Starting out as a telecom officer in Southampton handling customer complaints, I loved the office environment, with the predictable hours and reliable work. There was plenty of personal and professional development opportunities, which I lapped up. Other memories include leading our response to a massive surge in billing complaints, using a PC for the first time and also going on strike for three weeks.
Going Round In Circles
How often do you sit round in a circle at work, particularly without a desk or table in front of you? Has that ever happened? What did you notice?
Drama In Business: Playing With Purpose
Beautiful, creative chaos… 250 people from a consumer electronics company taking part in a radical alternative theatre workshop. I wish I remember it so well because of the impact it had on those who took part. Sadly the truth is that this event is etched in my memory because it of its rarity.