Category Archives: Working Smarter

Ten Tips For Dealing With Complex Predicaments

Posted on October 9, 2020 by Dave Pollard

Dave Snowden’s Cynefin Framework This is a bit of a screed against really bad “strategic” plans, which is to say most of the documents that go by that name. Most written plans these days are means to achieve a particular … Continue reading →

Posted in How the World Really Works, Working Smarter | 3 Comments

What’s the Best Possible Outcome?

Posted on August 22, 2020 by Dave Pollard

I’m a member of a Meetup group that is exploring various aspects of a non-hierarchical, self-organized approach to creating and operating business and other organizations, that is casually known as Teal, and is based on the book Reinventing Organizations. At … Continue reading →

Posted in How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves, Working Smarter | Comments Off on What’s the Best Possible Outcome?

There Must Be a Better Way

Posted on May 19, 2020 by Dave Pollard

This is a very long article, about meaningful work and about imagining possibilities. Hope you find it inspiring, and worth the read. Calgary restaurant workers separate tables to meet new social distancing rules prior to reopening. Image from the CBC’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Collapse Watch, How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves, Working Smarter | 2 Comments

Signs of the times: Zoom Edition

Posted on April 4, 2020 by Dave Pollard

  Translation: We can hear you eating, slurping, whispering, muttering, talking with others in the room, and/or making other unpleasant and disruptive bodily sounds, even over the sound of the person speaking. We’re all getting used to using Zoom and … Continue reading →

Posted in Creative Works, Working Smarter | 1 Comment

May I Ask a Question?

Posted on September 21, 2018 by Dave Pollard

Image from pixabay by Dean Moriarty, CC0 My friend Ben Collver recently loaned me a book called A More Beautiful Question, by Warren Berger, that arose from some ideas in Warren’s blog. The book is specifically focused on questions that spark business … Continue reading →

Posted in Our Culture / Ourselves, Working Smarter | 1 Comment

Networking to Find Better Work

Posted on January 22, 2018 by Dave Pollard

I’m retired, and hoping I won’t ever have to return to the work world, but I know most of the world doesn’t have that luxury, and many aren’t happy with the work they are doing as employees, freelancers or contractors (or they … Continue reading →

Posted in Working Smarter | 3 Comments

Community-Based Business Success Predictor

Posted on June 26, 2017 by Dave Pollard

This poster, which you can also download in a larger size as a PDF, is a recap of some of the major findings in my book Finding the Sweet Spot. If you can’t even imagine starting your own community-based business, here’s a … Continue reading →

Posted in Working Smarter | 4 Comments

Being Wonder-ful

Posted on January 20, 2017 by Dave Pollard

For a larger and more legible PDF version of this chart, click here. In my previous post, I presented my “play-list” — activities that personally bring me joy and delight, that I try to indulge in as much as possible. … Continue reading →

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A Cynical Theory of Power and Organizational Dynamics

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Dave Pollard

from GapingVoid.com by Hugh Macleod I‘ve previously mentioned that the most important thing I learned from 37 years in the business world is that in large organizations of every kind, almost all valuable work is done by workarounds, i.e. people on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Collapse Watch, Working Smarter | 25 Comments

The Patterns of Effective Conversation

Posted on June 24, 2015 by Dave Pollard

A week ago, at the Next Edge Festival in Montréal, I made a point of paying attention to the many conversations I had, or witnessed, in both small and large groups. It was an eye-opening experience. What I learned was: … Continue reading →

Posted in Working Smarter | 2 Comments