Blog

Years ago, when I was a fledgling marketer in the pharmaceutical industry, I found myself sitting in a pre-commercialisation meeting with colleagues from Medical Affairs, Regulatory Affairs, Commercial, Market Access and Clinical Development. We were discussing the same product, the same data, and the same objective. Yet by the end of the meeting, it felt as though we had all attended different discussions. The Medical team was focused on scientific integrity and evidence, re

Silos don’t just happen in highly specialised organisations. They’re built in from the start. You hire people for deep expertise. Then you structure the organisation around that expertise. In pharma, it’s Medical, Regulatory Affairs, Marketing, Sales, Market Research, Finance etc. In government, it’s Policy alongside functional domains. In science-based organisations, it’s entire teams organised by discipline. And then people act surprised when silos form; though I'm not sure

There’s always a gap between where you are and where you say you want to be. Most people treat it like a strategy problem. It isn’t: it’s a tolerance problem. What are you actually prepared to do to close it? More importantly, how uncomfortable are you prepared to get? That gap is filled with things most people avoid: – Saying what you really think, when it matters – Challenging people who have more authority/experience/knowledge than you – Risking being wrong, visible, disli

“Psychological safety” gets thrown around like it’s some kind of invisible force field. It isn’t. Here's the truth: If you make someone else responsible for your psychological safety, you hand them control of your emotional state. You don’t get one without the other. The moment you say, “I need you to behave in a certain way so I feel safe,” you’ve also given them the exact conditions required to unsettle you. I’m not suggesting people will do that deliberately. I’m saying yo

AI can’t replace human connection. And it never will. AI is evolving at breakneck speed, transforming how we work, communicate, and make...

Is ‘vulnerable expert’ an oxymoron? I don’t think so. Being an expert means having answers. Knowing what you’re doing. Being the go-to...

I find it concerning how many unprepared leaders there are out there. Notice I didn’t say “bad” leaders. You can choose your own word,...

We spend far too much time trying to fix our weaknesses. And it makes us believe we're idiots, don't get it, aren't good enough, are...

A value I do my best to live by is to assume that people are always doing their best and that their intentions are, on the whole, good....

For years, I was told I was 'too direct'. One day, I was told I was "Far too direct", so I decided to try to get to the bottom of it and...

Have you ever wondered how an organisation's culture develops? It's not as complicated as you might think. In fact, it's not complicated...

Poorly performing employees cost the economy around $500 billion every year. When organisational goals are not being met, the first place...

I'm not everyone's cup of tea. Case in point: I once gave one of my direct reports some feedback. The said direct report went home and...

Having organisational values takes guts. Recently, I've had the opportunity to work with a few organisations on their values and guiding...

Last night, I watched an interview with Ricky Gervais. Something he said really struck a cord with me. He said, "How arrogant are you to...