Inspiration

We love to deepen our knowledge and challenge our own thinking. Thankfully, our connected world makes it so much easier to find great content, whether it's a thought provoking book, an inspiring TED talk, some ground-breaking research or a blog that challenges convention. Occasionally something catches our attention and so we've included below a selection of our favourites.

Take me down

Professor Steve Peters – The Chimp Paradox

We love this book because it goes a long way towards explaining why our actions and behaviours often don't live up to our good intentions. The recognition that different parts of our brain are operating simultaneously at any given moment, often in competition with each other, helps us to see our own emotions and behaviours and those of others around us in a whole new light. In our view this is essential reading for anyone who is looking to influence human behaviour or understand their own. For those who want a quick intro, the link will take you to his TED talk. Read more

By Applied Change

Derek Sivers: How to start a movement

In this excellent and funny TED short TED video Derek Sivers shows how a movement can be created. Worth keeping in mind when we're trying to energise a change and it helps to explain how one person can trigger a global phenomenon. Whenever we think we're too small or insignificant to make a change, it's also worth remembering there are plenty of historical examples to inspire us such as Rosa Parks, Mahatma Ghandi, Nelson Mandela and, more recently, Greta Thunberg to name just a few. Read more

By Applied Change

Charles Duhigg – The Power of Habit – Book and TED Talk

Apparently 85% of what we do is driven by habit. Think about driving a car or doing mundane chores at home, often we're lost in thought and only barely conscious of what we're doing. Habits can work for us or against us. In this excellent book and TED talk Charles Duhigg shows us how we can hack our less useful habits to create new, better ones. And the real eye opener for me was the realisation that an organisation can have group habits too and they can equally be productive or destructive. Read more

By Mark Vincent

Reed Hastings – 3 Secrets to Netflix’s Success

In a world where agility and pace are critical to survival, the long term winners will be those who can sustainably unleash creative thinking right across the business. In this excellent TED interview Reed Hastings shows how different, often radical models have been adopted at Netflix, models that challenge to the very core some of our beliefs about how businesses can be run. Read more

By Applied Change

Patrick Lencioni: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

When a team is functioning well it's obvious, both to the team itself and to those around it. There's a clear buzz and things get done, quickly and seemingly with less effort. So how can we create this? Patrick Lencioni uses a story format to highlight some of the behaviours that ban work against successful teams. Like many things in life it seems so obvious, except when it isn't. Read more

By Mark Vincent

Kids can Teach Themselves

This engaging research challenges our thinking on the way we educate our kids. Maybe something to reflect on given the changes that are coming Read more

By Applied Change

Rory Sutherland: Sweat the small stuff

Rory Sutherland discusses how our perception of things shapes our reality. This is an area of increasing focus for behavioural economics and in business. Understanding how we really behave and how irrational we are means that seemingly small and inexpensive changes can have a disproportionate effect on our behaviour and therefore the outcomes that result from it. Read more

By Applied Change

How to run a company with almost no rules

Whilst it may seem radical to some at the moment, I think it's likely that organisations which thrive in future may have a lot in common with what's discussed here. Some of these themes are already in evidence, for example in the excellent TED interview with Reed Hastings of Netflix. I should urge caution though, it's not for the faint-hearted! Read more

By Applied Change

John Kotter – The Evolution of the 21st Century Organisation

John Kotter discusses why the organisational structures designed in the late 19th century are slowing businesses down in an era of rapid change. And what can be done to increase the pace. Whilst this was recorded in 2013, the lessons are, if anything, becoming more true by the day. Read more

By Applied Change

Leaders focus too much on changing policies, and not enough on changing minds

Whilst focusing on the harder aspects of a change, such as policies, processes, facilities, technology, training etc, what organisations typically overlook or at least pay too little attention to, is the human element, i.e. what we think and feel. And yet we're increasingly learning that it's one of the most fundamental contributors to successful outcomes. Read more

By Applied Change