second thoughts

JINGLE BALLS

Paul Rutherford

Dec 23, 2019
3 min

JINGLE BALLS

There are 1.96 billion children on the planet - and a growing population. Anticipating extended demand, Christmas Enterprises has engaged a team of Future Logistics Architects, Senior Brand Engineers and Investor Security Co-ordinators to examine operational alternatives. Initial reports demonstrate in-the-moment thinking and management-centric communication: Jingle Bells Jingle Bells Jingle Balls Jingle conversate Let me have your ballpark shot on-a loop back guestimate Jing

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10 MISSTEPS TO A VIDEO

Paul Rutherford

Dec 16, 2019
3 min

10 MISSTEPS TO A VIDEO

You can learn a lot from unsolicited promos on social media. Especially what to avoid... Here are the 10 MISSTEPS to making a video that no-one will want to view (unless as a warning lesson): MISSTEP 1. Put the CEO on screen immediately. If you have a handy stained-glass window (see video below), tilt the camera so the boss looks beatific, framed by a halo. Here's the opening pitch: "We’re living in a world of tremendous change; MISSTEP 2. Scare your potential customer. Here-

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TAPE FACE LEADERSHIP

Paul Rutherford

Nov 11, 2019
3 min

TAPE FACE LEADERSHIP

There's no obvious label for Tape Face's entertainment. Mime, perhaps? Silent comedy? Both conjour up former practitioners (Marcel Marceau, Buster Keaton), but neither accurately capture what he does. Actually, it's not what he does that's most important. It's what he doesn't. In a world drowned in management speak and leadership oration, Tape Face is a timely reminder of Albert Mehrabian's "7-38-55 Rule" - the percentage weighting of words, tone of voice, and non-verbal sign

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THE FOURTH COOKIE

Jun 10, 2019
2 min

THE FOURTH COOKIE

Excerpt #2/2 from 'Don't Eat Fortune's Cookie', the 2012 Princeton commencement speech by alumni Michael Lewis. He is the author of 'Liar's Poker' (Norton, 1989), 'Moneyball' (Norton, 2004) and 'The Big Short' (Norton, 2010). 'A few years ago...,a pair of researchers in the Cal psychology department staged an experiment. They began by grabbing students, as lab rats. Then they broke the students into teams, segregated by sex. Three men, or three women, per team. Then they put

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RATIONALIZING LUCK

Jun 3, 2019
1 min

RATIONALIZING LUCK

Excerpt #1/2 from 'Don't Eat Fortune's Cookie', the 2012 Princeton commencement speech by alumni Michael Lewis. He is the author of 'Liar's Poker' (Norton, 1989), 'Moneyball' (Norton, 2004) and 'The Big Short' (Norton, 2010). 'The book I wrote was called "Liar’s Poker." It sold a million copies. I was 28 years old. I had a career, a little fame, a small fortune and a new life narrative. All of a sudden people were telling me I was born to be a writer. This was absurd. Even I

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BULLETS FOR CONVENIENCE

May 27, 2019
1 min

BULLETS FOR CONVENIENCE

Excerpt #2/2 from 'How PowerPoint is killing critical thought', an essay by British author, essayist, and documentary-maker Andrew Smith. He is the author of 'Moondust: In Search of the Men Who Fell to Earth' (Bloomsbury 2009) and 'Totally Wired: The Wild Rise and Crazy Fall of the First Dotcom Dream' (Simon & Schuster 2013). '... PP can only present propositions and arguments as equations... They appear to have no owner; no one need feel responsible for them. In the post-ban

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FEEL THE MIND IN MOTION

May 20, 2019
2 min

FEEL THE MIND IN MOTION

Excerpt #1/2 from 'How PowerPoint is killing critical thought', an essay by British author, essayist, and documentary-maker Andrew Smith. He is the author of 'Moondust: In Search of the Men Who Fell to Earth' (Bloomsbury 2009) and 'Totally Wired: The Wild Rise and Crazy Fall of the First Dotcom Dream' (Simon & Schuster 2013). 'I still remember the best lecture I ever attended. It was part of a joint series offered by the English and philosophy departments in my first term at

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JOB TITLE CHASE CODA

Fortune Magazine

Apr 18, 2019
1 min

JOB TITLE CHASE CODA

Excerpt from 'Why Unusual Job Titles are Bad for You and Your Company' by Daniel Bukszpan. Director of First Impressions All About People is a staffing and recruiting company based in Phoenix, Arizona. It has 25,000 successfully-placed candidates to its credit, and co-founder Sherri Mitchell said that she’s seen numerous jobs of old sneak into the 21st century with new-look titles. “Back in the day you would hear ‘receptionist,’” she said. “One of the trendier ways of describ

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BEFORE THE GREAT CHASE

Paul Rutherford

Mar 25, 2019
4 min

BEFORE THE GREAT CHASE

Someone asked me recently about my working life; what have I done in my career? And, like many, I slipped in the audio version of my CV - a well-honed, anecdote-filled summary of 30-something years. That same day, I was on the train out of London. Two Asian lads - 14 years-old, perhaps 15 - sat near me. One of them had money worries. Not mortgage or credit card levels of worry; something much more pressing. New girlfriend levels of worry. How was he going to pay to take her o

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SO MUCH WITH SO LITTLE

GREEN GAMES' OPM

Paul Rutherford

Nov 28, 2018
5 min

GREEN GAMES' OPM

February 1994. Lillehammer: The first Winter Olympic Games to be held in a different year from the Summer Games. And after being involved for 30 years, Xerox finally became a full TOP Partner. A TOP participant, without discretionary budget. Olympic sponsorship is an expensive, complex commitment. And getting value from participation is not guaranteed. There are two factors that play against you. Factor #1: the multiple tiers of deep pockets. At Lillehammer, there were three

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NOT-SO LIGHT RELIEF

IDLE'S IDOLS' INSPIRATION

"I AM A MODERN MAN"

THE THREE BEARDS

TITHE AND TEA

Paul Rutherford

May 22, 2018
2 min

TITHE AND TEA

Last week, we took a narrow boat down the Kennett and Avon canal. Slow pace, a different time. One day we visited the chocolate-boxy Bradford-on-Avon, and took a walk to drink in some local history. Most impressive, a C15th tithe barn. 50 metres long, 10 metres wide, the building annually stored a tenth (tithe) of farmers’ produce which fed the nuns at the Shaftesbury Abbey - the richest nunnery in England. Before returning to the boat, we stopped at a much smaller outb

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WHAT IS A PHOTOCOPIER?

MIND MAPPING

Paul Rutherford

Dec 4, 2017
3 min

MIND MAPPING

Long, long ago - before Malta joined the EU and New York experienced power outage - I was on a mini tour of Asia, signing contracts with resellers for some software products. Most disconcerting was Taiwan (where a measure of success was how few people fell asleep during my presentation); most exciting was Hong Kong and the view across the bay. Media interviews were part of the trip, so I found myself in the Reception for a local radio station, waiting to go on air. For a few

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I WALK DOWN...

Nov 20, 2017
1 min

I WALK DOWN...

Excerpt from the book 'There's A Hole in My Sidewalk', by Portia Nelson. 1. I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost … I am hopeless. It isn’t my fault. It takes forever to find a way out. 2. I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don’t see it. I fall in again. I can’t believe I’m in the same place. But it isn’t my fault. It still takes a long time to get out. 3. I walk down the same street.

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DON'T IT YOURSELF

Paul Rutherford

Sep 11, 2017
3 min

DON'T IT YOURSELF

True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing - Socrates Our first house was a classic Victorian terrace: two-up, two-down, with an extension on the back for kitchen and bathroom. The two rooms downstairs had been knocked into one, keeping one fireplace open, the other blocked. My wife and I saw that a neighbour had opened up the second fireplace and fitted shelves for books and audio equipment. We decided to do the same. As a child I’d watched my father do br

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