For my forty-second blog (42nd, rather than tiktok length), I suppose I should have written a review of the works of Douglas Adams or pulled together an overview of how his off-the-wall musings are instructive for the spotlight of merciless absurdity and kind admiration they shone on many of the hard science and sociological theories that abounded in the 70s and 80s. 

But actually, as we approach the end of March, I wanted to use this blog to say thanks to the various people who tirelessly work to break down the barriers and share insights across different organisations, fields of work and institutions.

In recent months I’ve learned a great deal from the Breakfast briefings laid on by Cardiff Business School as part of their Executive education programme. Quite apart from the lure of  pre-work pastries and coffee, their eclectic and always highly insightful speakers have taken me on a tour of subjects, stories and approaches that I’d never have come across in my work, either for the IPO, or in the coaching business, but that nevertheless have triggered ideas and broadened the context with which I approach my jobs.

The session last November saw Andrew Proctor, from AWS, talk about how Amazon uses their two pizza approach to forming teams to pursue improvements that allow their teams to experiment with new approaches and how by instilling their leadership principles at the very outset their staff are empowered to make the changes that’ll shift the business forward. The main takeaway that I took from that session was the idea of asking whether a change was a two-way, or one-way door. If a change is reversible, then allowing people to go ahead and try things out, and learn from what arises is a great way of ensuring that what you do stays nimble.

That session also allowed the inimitable Sarah Lethbridge to wax lyrical about her (and Andrew’s) love of Taylor Swift, which made me nostalgic for how we first met over a decade ago through Cardiff’s musicgeek monthly events (a book club alternative for music lovers).

There’s been other tip-top sessions too, in which a panel discussed how they’d fundamentally changed their approach to disciplinary practice in the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, a subject dear to my heart from all my years working first as an Harassment Contact Officer and more recently in my efforts as an HR mediator across the public sector. It’s easy to say that you’re taking a person-centred approach, but it is another thing entirely to make the culture and procedural shifts towards making that a reality, so it was heartening to hear the panel members talking about the real world benefits, not just to the people, but also to the organisation, from recognising how important it is to approach these tricky situations in the right manner and looking for effective outcomes.

Last month’s edition highlighted the great initiatives that the talkative Dan Cullen-Shute and Stu Outhwaite-Noel kicked off in the advertising profession to ensure that interns and trainees were not only paid, but given a living wage. Their concept and application of positive coercion has made a real difference to people’s lives in that industry, and it was particularly refreshing to hear them talk frankly about the problems with porting such approaches into different contexts which operate under different constraints. Such honesty was nifty in allowing the attendees to ponder how their approach could be adapted in the fields we work in (altho having the lucrative environment that advertising operates in is quite a boon).

Just a couple of weeks ago, the latest breakfast briefing was packed out, as it covered the sometimes thorny issues around a major infrastructure project. Nigel Roberts gave us an in-depth account of the one step forwards, two steps back, three steps forward progress of the Cardiff Parkway station scheme. As different ministers and battles between the farming families who own the land on which it is to be built came and went, he painted a compelling picture of the benefits that having a parkway station to the East of the city (and the associated high tech business parks that are planned to surround and make use of the hub).

As with all of the talks, there’s usually an underlying driving force of an individual or a team with a clear view of what they’re trying to achieve and who are able to articulate that vision in a manner which helps to bring people along with their plans. Seeing this work across a wide spread of contexts, highlighted to me the importance of having the space, in whatever it is that you’re doing, to stress test your ideas (there’s the coaching link). It’s all too easy to be carried away by your theories, and to dismiss the concerns of others with the thought that they don’t understand the genius of your schemes. But being able to tap into the viewpoints, and concerns, and experience of others is always a real boon to landing the work you’re doing.

In that same spirit, these breakfast briefings allow people that same safe arena to outline their successes and stumbles in the work that they’ve done, and the generosity to help others learn from the paths that have already been trodden.

Another boon of the breakfast briefings that I noticed as I trawled through the photos that I’d taken at the events, was how regularly they coincided with sunny weather. All a good excuse to look out for similar events in your local area (or to come along to these Cardiff ones, and maybe say hi over a pastry). There’s such a wealth of knowledge and experience to unearth among the community, it would be such a shame to pass that by.