Broadcast Magazine: Comment Piece
In an industry we’re all passionate about, it can be hard not to take conflict personally – but psychologist Janet Evans suggests taking a step back. Joe, a TV producer, is about to start work on a series with a famously ‘difficult’ presenter. Tom has a reputation for getting upset, shouting at the crew, and... Continue reading→
10 How the emotional imprint of our childhood can disrupt our working lives
A man’s subconscious self is not the ideal companion. It lurks for the greater part of his life in some dark den of its own, hidden away, and emerges only to taunt and deride and increase the misery of a miserable hour. PG Wodehouse, The Adventures of Sally Tell me what you fear and... Continue reading→
9 The Troubled Personality: why some of us find work, and life, particularly stressful
‘My mind is always at the highest DEF-CON level possible, but the truth is that I can’t control everything. I wish I could. Instead, I meticulously plan and worry, and imagine the worst case scenarios for everything …’ The comedian, Susan Calman in her autobiography, Cheer Up, Love: Adventures in Depression with the Crab... Continue reading→
8 A Bit More About the Creative Personality – high sensitivity and empathy
Me who am as a nerve o’er which do creep The else unfelt oppressions of this earth… Percy Bysshe Shelley: Julian and Maddalo Fiver: ‘There isn’t any danger here at the moment. But it’s coming – it’s coming. Oh, Hazel, look! The field! It’s covered with blood!’ Richard Adams: Watership Down The trouble with a... Continue reading→
7 Troubled Visionaries: the Creative Personality
I recently went to an exhibition of John Singer Sargent’s paintings at Tate Britain. Sargent was a portraitist famous not only for his ability to capture the essence of his sitters but also of the lavish Edwardian silks and velvets they wore. When you look at a Sargent close up you see a simple abstract... Continue reading→
6 The Amazing Associative Machine
‘I don’t know if I actually said Eureka, but that Eureka moment really did happen……I suddenly realised that there was a door in front of me that I didn’t even know existed that had suddenly swung open’ Sir Alec Jeffries on DNA-based identification The unconscious intuitive, ‘Visionary’, mind is at its most magical when it... Continue reading→
5 So, Can You Trust Your Gut?
‘Were there things we should have done differently? Unquestionably. But, you know, I would struggle to itemise them all before you now in a hierarchy, I’m afraid.’ Boris Johnson at the Covid Inquiry, 6 December 2023 As we saw in the first article of this series on decision-making, many problems require a classical approach: that... Continue reading→
Looking Ahead
I’ve been asked to set out my plans for future articles. Here are the broad topics I will be covering. Do let me know if there are others you would find useful. Introduction to the unconscious mind Magic and Misdirection – the role of the unconscious in the workplace (Article 1) President Trump - poster... Continue reading→
4 Misdirection: Why Intuition has a Bad Name
‘Jumping to conclusions is efficient if the conclusions are likely to be correct and the costs of an occasional mistake acceptable. and if the jump saves much time and effort. [It] is risky when the situation is unfamiliar, [and] the stakes are high……. These are the circumstances in which intuitive errors are probable, which may... Continue reading→
3 What is Intuition? Introducing the Visionary and the Engineer
‘Intuition is nothing but the outcome of earlier intellectual experience.’ Albert Einstein We use our intuition all the time to take complex decisions in our jobs. We need to because we seldom have access to all the facts or the time to analyse them. In my next three articles I look at how intuition works,... Continue reading→