What's That Niggle?

There is something somewhere bothering you.  For the purposes of this post, considering the frame it’s in, we’ll assume that ‘something' is work related.  It could be about a process, or that piece of information you can’t find, or a question about a procedure you’re looking to talk to someone about or a feeling that the path your company is on isn’t quite the right one. That something is nebulous. out of focus and just uncomfortable enough to be a little disruptive.  It’s a sense that something’s missing, something’s stuck or something’s not letting you get something done and it’s succeeded in pulling your attention from more productive things.

I was thinking about my own ‘something’ like this last week. That got me thinking about the story of The Princess and the Pea, and that led me to scribble a thought on an index card.  Which is how I find out what the niggle is.  The niggle gets stable and focussed when I write down the thought that holds the niggle.  And unlike the princess who didn’t want to find out what was keeping her up all night, once that thought is staring at me from a piece of card, paper, whiteboard or blackboard I begin to dig through all the layers of mattress. I allow my mind and my attention to wander with a purpose, to sort out what might be going on with this thing that’s poking me in the physical or metaphorical ribs and not letting me sleep well. And when I find that thing, it’s time to look for solutions.

In the story, the niggle is a test: a woman comes in out of the rain, claims she’s a royal and so a test is set to find out if that’s true. In our lives and work, the niggle is also a test.  There is something going on that isn’t allowing us to become as royal as we want to be.  In the paths we have chosen something is in the way, or is on the side of the road, pulling our attention away from what’s important.  We are all princes and princesses.  Though we’re not necessarily looking for a wife or a husband, we all feel the pea when it matters.  It is well worth the effort to find out what that thing is and change distraction into renewed focus.

Let’s talk about how to dig through your mattresses, remove the pea and make new things.

See you in a week!

Beginnings

Hello Everyone,

Welcome to my blog, and the blogging home of Argrestes Consulting Limited.  Whether you got here through Blogger, the links through Facebook or Linkedin, or through the Ideas page on the website: Welcome.  I hope over time you’ll keep coming back and that you'll find ideas that pique your curiosity, provoke some different thinking and that are useful to you.  The plan is for new thinking to arrive here every Wednesday, in between 48 to 50 weeks a year.  There may be the odd special post, and even the odd guest.

There are a few things I want to briefly write about today to kick things off.  The first is to mention Argrestes' practice areas, second is what I mean when I say "creativity + discipline = results" and the last are the beliefs, principles and values that I’m building Argrestes on.  A lot for one post maybe, but as my title says, these are the beginnings.

My four practice areas, or three and a half depending on how you view one of this list, are Knowledge Management, Information Management, Strategy and Innovation.  I begin work in all of these from the same premise: helping individuals and organizations leverage their knowledge and resources to help them achieve the success they want.  I’ll be talking more about different facets of each one of these pieces in the coming weeks.

'Creativity + Discipline = Results' is a distillation of my own way of working that’s grown out of making theatre and my MBA studies, and from an insight from Jim Collin’s book Good to Great.  All great things start with the seed of an idea that is the answer to a question.  This process is regardless of wether or not the question is a business question or a question about the human condition.  Once the idea has formed, it requires discipline to do the work to bring the idea to life, either as a product, a work of art or a new process or procedure.  In order to get results both the flash of brilliance and the willingness to do the work and see it through to the end are necessary.  

Lastly,  I want to give you my list of beliefs, values and principles.  I stand on and I stand by these.  They govern how I do the work, and also form a part of why. They are:

1.  I believe people can make great things.  I believe people making together can make significantly greater things.

2.   I believe change starts with the first question.

3.   I believe people are an organization’s greatest strength.

4.   Opportunities lie at the intersection of wants and needs.  It is my job to listen to my clients’ wants, identify what is needed and demonstrate the opportunities for transformation that lie in the conversation between the two.

5.    I believe long term goals govern and reveal short term steps and outcomes.

6.    Creative thinking coupled with the discipline to execute, persevere and follow through makes for transformative and lasting results.

I look forward to working with you in future.  See you in a week!