All across the country, ordinary, hard-working folks are taking down their Christmas decorations, winding up fairy lights, and packing away what little festive joy they had mustered for this season into small little boxes to store in their attics* (if they are fortunate enough to have an attic, or a…

A speculative tale of restorative aquaculture 12th September, 2034 I set down my empty coffee cup on the kitchen table and leave the house quietly. The air is cool, and I wrap my scarf around me as I cross the front garden. I open the gate that leads straight on to the beach and step down…

Beyonce says Girls — but it’s most likely sociopaths. — If I can’t afford something anymore, I cancel it. I’ve lost my favourite magazine subscriptions, gym subscriptions, wine subscriptions, and even coffee subscriptions (jokes, of course I haven’t cancelled coffee. I’m not a maniac). It’s the first rule of Personal Finance. Don’t spend more than you make. Yet I’m sitting…

In a world where you can be anything, be … Open. Here are 4 reasons you need a transparent company culture. (TL/DR: productivity will go through the roof, literally everything will be better). Here are 5 benefits of transparency in a relationship. (Better trust, better connection, better everything). In this article, I examined why we need transparency in supply chains —…

Dear Jeff, I was excited to read about the commissioning of your new boat in the port of Rotterdam. Coming from Scotland, we have a sad history regarding the decline of the ship-building industry, and I can only imagine the number of jobs involved in the construction of this boat…

In my last post, I wrote about the problem I have with techno-optimism, and in doing so I opened an entire can of worms. A can of very heated worms. The thing about techno-optimism is that it’s nice. It feels good to believe that technology will save us. It’s a…

Imagine this: it’s the 1950s, you’re on your way up in the world, and you’ve won a prize. You get a choice between two: a cabin on an island, or a fancy, new-fangled dishwasher. I like to think I’d choose a cabin by the sea any day of the week. But that’s me in 2021, when land is expensive and limited, much like my time — but technology is cheap and no longer novel. Back then, what would I have chosen? …

The Unsettling Search for Self in a Global Crisis I’ve read 15 guides to coping with ‘reentry anxiety’ as the pandemic-related restrictions ease, and not one of them has helped calm my flaring mind. For one, it’s not clear exactly what we are meant to be reentering — a while back we were talking about the New Normal, which…

Standing on the back patio, I gaze up into the night sky. I’m looking for my favourite constellation, Cassiopeia, mother of Andromeda, and a few others I know. …