Building Sand Castles

Did you catch the BBC series Wonders of the Universe presented by Brian Cox? In the first episode Brian explained The Second Law of Thermodynamics and it struck me that it applies to business as much as it does to nature.

The world continuously slides towards disorder and chaos. You only have to go into one of the leading retail multiples on a Saturday lunchtime to see chaos at work – clothing previously neatly stacked, litters the floor like a mosaic rug. Staff come round to refold and rehang the garments, only for the items to be scattered once again. A constant stream of energy and enthusiasm is required to keep the displays looking neat and tidy, otherwise things become increasingly chaotic

Brian cox used sand castles as a way of explaining this. Grains of sand on a beach exist in a completely random order. The effect of wind, rain sun and tides may move them around, add, move, remove or replace individual grains, but its still random and requires relatively little effort or energy.

Take those same grains and put them into something highly structured, like a sand castle. Now there are far fewer variations in the way the grains can be ordered and the effect of the weather is far greater. Maintaining the sand castle requires greater and constant energy. Any lapse in attention results in the sandcastle disintegrating as chaos once again takes over

The 2nd law of thermodynamics has some interesting implications for work and our personal lives. Take your desk for example. An untidy desk requires little effort to maintain, but tidying mine up and keeping that way can be exhausting.

Tidy desk = lots of energy input = high entropy
Untidy desk = little energy input = low entropy 

However, I have to able ato find things when I want them, so like many people, I have a simple system. Simple is good - I like simple.  The more structured and complex your systems and processes, the more energy required to maintain them.


So, what can you do to simplify your business and at the same time focus on what's most important?  There is only so much energy to go round, use it wisely.

ciao Marco

like many, I was up early last Sunday to watch the MotoGP.  I was full of excitement and anticipation, but what happened just 2 laps into the race, left me numb for the rest of the day.  Low side crashes are a regular event in motorcycle racing.  Riders normally walk away unharmed and are often seen running after their bike to jump bank on it to finish the race.  Sadly, on this occasion a combination of unlikely circumstances turned a common rider error into a horrific and fatal accident.


Marco Simoncelli was a controversial rider.  He was super talented, completely committed but also took risks that some other riders felt were not acceptable in their eyes.  And that's what made him a contender to be a future world champion. Top level sport is one of extremes - that extra 1% that separates the best from the very best.  Steve Jobs was quoted as saying "stay young, stay foolish"  Today, I think I know what he meant.

Has Apple Bitten Off More Than It Can Chew?

Two years ago I jumped the Microsoft ship and moved over to apple.  My main reason was the famous "it just works functionality.  No more crashing, freezing and wasted hours tracking down conflicts. I wanted simplicity and Apple provided it with style.

Today however, I lost a little faith.  Apple's release of IOS 5 and iCloud have turned my iPad into a very expensive Kindle.  My iPhone is now just a phone.  Despite spending the best part of 3 hours talking to the very friendly and apologetic Apple Support staff I still have the best part of £1,000 worth of equipment that just doesn't work.

Are Apple a victim of their own success, or have they forgotten what made them successful in the first place?

Stay Hungry Stay Foolish

Today is one of those days that I'll remember. One of those days when someone says where were you when Steve Jobs died? It's come as a bit of a shock and that surprises me. I've never met him, I don't know him. All I do know is what I see and read in the media. But what I read today struck a chord or maybe touched a nerve. I'm definitely still foolish, but am I still hungry?

In 2005 Steve Jobs gave the commencement address at Stanford University, where he told three stories, The first one was about his early years and education, and hoe following his passions unintentionally provided him with the inspiration for the first Mac's typography.

The second story was about love and loss, being fired from Apple, creating Pixar, falling in love and finally his return to Apple after they bought NeXT.

His final story and the part I have written out below is about death. It's so poignant today listening to him when speak about his battle with cancer and seeing death as life's change agent. I find it both moving and inspiring:

"No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Thank you all very much."

Thank you Steve. In death, as in life you are still an agent of change.

Read or watch the full speech here http://bit.ly/q5rcvx

How Angry Birds can Improve Business Performance

For anyone who hasn't heard of Angry birds (where have you been?), it's the gaming phenomenon that has taken the world by storm.  So strong is the Angry Birds brand that companies like Starbucks are using it to raise their own profile. But how can Angry Birds improve business performance?


Taking some of the principles of game theory and applying them to your business can reap big rewards for little or no investment.  Here are a few ides to get you started:


Angry Birds has a clear achievable goal - kill the pigs and claim your golden eggs
How clear are the goals in your business and what do they mean to your employees and/or volunteers?  If people don't understand them, find no meaning in them or believe they unattainable; you'll never get the best from them.


Angry Birds is easy to understand and play
Is everyone clear about your expectations?  Have you provided the guidelines and resources to enable your staff to easily engage with you and the business?


Failure is not punished, it's an opportunity to learn from mistakes
In Angry Birds, if you dont' complete a round, you get to have another go.  You are encouraged to learn from your failed attempts by making it easy to start the round again, even part way through. The puzzle element of the game promotes creative thinking.  How does your business utilise failures and mistakes?


Angry bird characters have different skills and qualities.  Using them in the right combination solves the puzzle.
Angry Birds promotes team working.  By recognising and learning about individuals' skills and qualities, you learn to make the best use from them.  what are your team members' hidden strengths?


You get unexpected achievements to keep you motivated and interested, encouraging you to complete the game.
This was the inspiration for writing the blog.  As you move through the Angry Birds game, you are rewarded for your perseverance and determination, as well as your successes.  Everyone knows the importance of rewarding performance, but how often does it happen?  Small tokens and gestures with little or no monetary value have an amazing effect.  Try it!

Short Steps (not short cuts) to Making Good Choices

Some decisions are easy, others hard.  Here’s some steps that can help make a few of them a bit easier, rather than leaving them to chance:

1. Keep you eye on the prize.  What is the outcome you want and how do the options fit with it? If you’re not clear about your goal, spend some time to clarify what you want. visualise what you want
2. Use your head and your heart. If you tend to be a rational/logical thinker, allow your intuition to come to the fore and visa versa. 
3. Take your potential decisions into the future.  how does the the future look, feel, sound, taste and smell once they’ve been made? Are there any unintended consequences? How do they align with your desired outcome?
4. Plan the choice you've made.  If there's a big step to take, what would half-way be?  If it's ok, move on, if not, what would half-way to half-way be like - I think you get the idea.
5. Act now.  If you find yourself hesitating, what is holding you back? Is it physical, intellectual or emotional? Imagine for a moment what would you do if you weren’t afraid.  There is no failure only feedback.

Imagine what you want, plan what you imagine, do what you plan 

Are You Tuned In To Change?

A friend of mine turned their tv on this morning, only to be greeted by the dreaded snow storm screen of televisual death. After a brief moment of panic, she remembered that it was her turn for the bis switchover and her digibox simply needed retuning.  Five minutes later, Adrian Chiles' face was smiling happily down on the assembled family and normal service was resumed.


On reflection, my friend thought her reaction to tv failure was hilarious, but also brought home a serious point:  For months the media have been telling everyone the changeover is going to happen, support lines have been set-up, information websites created, advertising campaigns pushing the message out there and what do we do? We ignore it and then panic when it happens!


So how do you manage change?  Do you plan and prepare, let it happen and go with the flow, or ignore it, hoping it will never happen?  It's your choice, but your choice affects not just you but all those around you. Corporal Jones made a career out of shouting "Don't Panic", but it's unlikely to work for you.