Thread by @swardley

X : How do you change an organisation?
Me : New executive? Existing organisation?
X : Yes and yes
Me : Hit the ground running, you have 100 days to get things moving and overcome any existing inertia.
X : It has been 160 days.
Me : Get acquired?

X : Acquired?
Me : A new exec to hit the ground running. They have 100 days ...
X : Are you just saying that's it?
Me : You're part of the inertia. You could hire expensive change consultants. It'll make you feel good.
X : Not very helpful.
Me : Well, you're now the problem.

X : But look at Satya Nadella?
Me : Hit the ground running.
X : Jeff Bezos.
Me : Exception that proves the rule. It take incredible fortitude of will to do this, a singular strong and long term focus. Lots of people like to believe they have this, not many do.

X : I have this.
Me : Evidence suggests otherwise.
X : What evidence?
Me : You're asking me what to do. Play to your strengths, if you're beyond that 100 days then look towards efficiency of what you have. Just try and run it better or get acquired if change is needed.

X : Is this an example of your "want" vs "needs"?
Me : You "want" me to give you a magic answer to your problems. What you "need" is a bit of honesty to the situation you're in and what you can do.
X : I'm not sure I like this.
Me : The point where the conversation normally ends.

X : How many times do you get shown the door?
Me : More times than I care to remember. It's usually politely done with the phrase "that's interesting" which means "I'm going to ignore whatever you've said, please leave, never darken my door again".
X : You don't seem to care?

Me : I do. It's a waste of your time and my time. But long ago, I went through an experience of getting fired all the time, thinking life was over and moving on. I gained tough skin and adaptability. Without this, I wouldn't have banged on about mapping for the last 16 years.

X : I like your mapping stuff.
Me : Thank you and it has a small and growing following. But, 16 years ago, the overwhelming majority in business thought it was just nonsense, gibberish and a waste of time. Ditto serverless, cloud, open source, ditto ... mapping culture ...

... I'm very used to being told that I talk nonsense, that I'm wrong, that I'm misguided and how this or that thought leader told them "blah, blah, blah and yes you can have the future just like the past and you don't need to change".

It comes with the turf.

X : Doesn't that affect your state of mind?
Me : Ah, the more I'm told it's nonsense and the more it turns out not to be? This does raise a concern that I might start believing in myself. It just means more work for me double checking myself. It's helpful to be wrong as well ..

... I used to use the "cup of tea" bets where I'd push ideas into the world of individual actors actions (not aggregated market effects) and be wrong. It's good to know your limits and constantly question yourself. You can cheat a little bit but no-one can "know" the future.

X : You're wrong about brexit.
Me : I get told that a lot. But there is an opportunity as power shifts from West to East to create that global trading nation from the America to Asia, from Africa to Europe. It's important, especially since protectionism has been on the rise.

X : So, you think this Gov can do that?
Me : A future Gov. The opportunity exists, it's just short lived.

X : Why not this Gov?
Me : 403 days have passed. Let us just focus on getting through the pandemic preferably well before the next election.

X : Don't you think the vaccine ...
Me : I'd rather we just concentrate on getting through the pandemic which also means test, test, test and isolate. The long term issues from this, the long term care, the impacts from stress - bbc.com/news/av/health… - are all horrendous.

X : You're in favour of lockdown?
Me : Yes. Until we get some sort of control. Stay at home, wear a mask, wash regularly, disinfect surfaces, keep the pets indoors, act as if you've got it.
X : Pets?
Me : Human to feline transmission? cdc.gov/coronavirus/20…

X : You're kidding?
Me : No. At this moment, we just don't know i.e. in medical terms we have "no evidence that animals play a significant role". This came up last August - nejm.org/doi/full/10.10… - does it really hurt to keep moggy indoors for a couple of months?