Weekly Distillation: No. 7
Implementing Ideas; Statues; Racism; Coronavirus; Zoom; Robots; Cruise Ships; War; Gin
Photo by Jason Barone on Unsplash
This newsletter is written for entrepreneurial organisational leaders and aims to help identify themes of our current context and provide questions, tips and tools that can help in navigating that.
“Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome.” - Rosa Parks
“Success in creating AI would be the biggest event in human history. Unfortunately, it might also be the last, unless we learn how to avoid the risks.” - Stephen Hawking
“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” - Albert Einstein
“The great thing about Glasgow is that if there's a nuclear attack it'll look exactly the same afterwards.” Billy Connolly
Skim it in a minute
Is it ever right to tear down a statue? This week’s debates seem to have veered from tear down every statue we can, to well what should we replace them with, or whether you say Black Lives Matter or #blacklivesmatter because you agree with the protest but not the organisation. On issues of justice and injustice, when you start debating the process rather than the problem, you probably have missed the point of the protest in the first place. People I wouldn’t want to see a statue of in my city include Hitler, Mussolini, Amin, Gerry Adams, Bin Ladin, Stalin, Tommy Robinson, Ghadaffi, Al Baghdadi, Travis Kalanick, Harvey Weinstein - and there’s many more. If there’s a statue in your town where the basis for that person being there is slavery or building on the bodies of others, it’s a deep offence to make that last. Accusations of rewriting history are incredibly ironic given the protest is actually pointing out a broader history that so many of us didn’t know - I certainly feel I need to read up on Henry Dundas. The narrative that it was a different era doesn’t stand scrutiny - that’s not a justification for keeping the statues from this point on. Will I be tearing down statues? No. But I won’t be entering into a lot of debates about what the right process for removing statues is either.
I’d encourage you to read the moment and to listen to the root causes of the protest. It’s easy to divide this into different political camps but injustice isn’t that simple - it should be for both sides of the political divide to develop solutions to a shared recognition of the issue. And recognise that removing a statue is symbolic - but the work of fighting racial injustice is a long-term commitment.
Photo by Gabriel Benois on Unsplash
As we’ve seen that office workers want to continue to work from home for ever, companies are having to face up to how we will have to redesign offices and homes. If you are like me, your week goes Zoom, Zoom, Call; answer a lot of emails; Zoom; Zoom; lunch; Zoom; do an hour of focused work; Zoom; Zoom…it’s great to be able to connect (and essential for my work) but after 6 hours back to back on Zoom one day this week I almost decided to give up Zoom for next year’s Lent starting now. What’s worked to offset that feeling - do a walking phone call; get outside; exercise; stop and read; block out non Zoom time; shorten calls to 30 minutes and minimise evening Zoom calls. I miss my office sandwich. How are your team prepared for long term working from home?
“Can you be more specific?” - a cartoon for the moment
This week felt like a big step backwards on Coronavirus around the world. Perhaps not entirely surprisingly, but the narrative is shifting. In France and Germany the R rate is rising as lockdown is eased. In China, Beijing has gone back into partial lockdown. Brazil is close to 1m cases. South African cases are rising in the townships and people I talk to there remain concerned about what it will mean. India has 12,000 deaths a day and has one of the fastest rates of increase in the world. Talking to people in India this week, there is a major challenge with people sticking to the lockdown and a sense that lockdown exhaustion is a big factor - with the lockdown now being eased. Russia has a real problem but finally seems to be flattening the curve. My contacts in the US are talking about Coronavirus in a way that they haven’t for weeks as R rates rise and cases and deaths increase. Speculation on whether the elections will be delayed remain. Countries that don’t seem to be flattening the curve fast enough - Egypt, Ivory Coast, Pakistan, South Africa, India, Brazil, Russia and the US. With 25% of contacts in the UK under Track and Trace being uncontactable, there seem to be no obvious short term fixes, whilst lockdowns continue their relentless march to being removed.
“Vaccine progress: Going well, but a long way off.
Treatment progress: Going well, but not enough.
Effective test & trace: Not going fast.
Social norms to prevent transmission: Going backwards fast.”- Nicholas Thompson, Editor in Chief - Editor of WIRED
Scotland continues to follow a cautious and prudent path. Whilst the government may come under fire for not unlocking quickly (despite it largely following an England + 2 weeks which is consistent with the infection curve), I’d rather err on the side of caution on this one - especially given news around the Continent.
The main concern in the UK remains what will happen to the banks? Will they see so many collapses and loan restructurings that they face writedowns, bad debts and capital shortfalls that lead to job losses, reduced lending and financial market chaos? Not a central case, given the work they have done over the last decade to improve balance sheets - but one to keep an eye on.
This article advocates for planning in short, iterative cycles and that remains by far the best way to approach the next few months. It’s not possible in all circumstances - but there are too many variables to make meaningful 2021 and 2022 plans in detail.
In the midst of this, I was intrigued to read about this company approaching the job market a different way round. A good innovation.
Photo by Franck V. on Unsplash
Whilst we’re all aware of the advancement of robotics, it’s harder to see the immediate relevance to many of us who operate in environments where there are not large factories or processes. This article was good on why robots will be the ones making choices for consumers and how you need to learn to market business to robot to consumer - B2R2C. To do that you need to learn how to speak robot. And on the defensive side, develop skills that will not be automated. At an ethical level, many senior technology executives and scientists remain concerned about enabling robots to fight - whether themselves or humans. When you see this headline, you wonder how far away the reality of that is. There’s a good argument for getting behind declaring weaponised AI as WMD. Getting up to speed on how robots and AI impact your organisation is wise. Post Coronavirus, many organisations will find it appealing or essential to introduce robots faster than they might otherwise have done.
I’ve been discussing with friends whether we can expect a geopolitical crisis evolving post Coronavirus - to distract attention from domestic issues, or to take advantage of a weaker neighbour. This week saw reports of a horrific fight on the China-India border area in disputed territory. As a result of both sides agreeing to not carry guns with the intention of de-escalating events, it appears that other weapons had been involved - including allegedly the weapon above. 20 Indian soldiers died (and an unknown number of Chinese), some beaten to death and some from falling into glacial rivers. The tensions seem to be easing but this is one of the flashpoints that worry security analysts as it involves two nuclear weapon states. Another nuclear weapon state, North Korea, this week did its best to increase tensions in the dispute there.
My writing this week
Last week I wrote about the need to pursue bigger goals. This week I write about how to actually turn any new project idea into an actionable plan.
A long read for the weekend
What it was like to be on a cruise ship when country after country refused you entry and the healthy people were removed from around about you.
The other weekly distillation
“the action of purifying a liquid by a process of heating and cooling.”
A light and quick look at Spirits that have caught my eye or tongue.
I had lunch with the brother of the founder of Glaswegin a year or so ago and he mentioned this relatively new business and the gin to me. Having purchased a bottle, I have say I really enjoyed it and it’s rare that a bottle has caused so much discussion amongst friends. I used to sit on the board of a company that owned one of the largest UK gin businesses and we spent an inordinate amount of time listening to pitches on bottle shapes. In gin it does seem to make a difference in marketing. With over 500 gin companies in the UK, it’s harder to stand out. I love the pun in the name and like Glasgow, it’s creative, gritty, different and bold. Apparently it includes 8 botanicals including something I’d never heard of - Scottish milk thistle. Here’s how the company describes it:
Bottled and distilled in an artisan still in the heart of Glasgow, our Scottish craft gin features a unique blend of gin botanicals, resulting in an inimitable flavour. Glaswegin is a Scottish gin, inspired by the no-nonsense style of the city of Glasgow and its people, best served with a fuss-free tonic and a classic gin garnish. Though our roots are very much in Glasgow, our minimal monochrome bottle has global appeal, with our full size bottles and miniature gin gifts making ideal gin presents for the discerning gin-lover. Read our tips on creating the perfect gin serve or mix some Glaswegin gin cocktails with our serve suggestions, provided by our expert in-house mixologist.
You can buy it here. This isn’t a sponsored post - if you like the sound of Glaswegin, why not be an encouragement to them and buy some? I’m on the lookout for other spirits to write about so if you have one to recommend please let me know.