Experience does not automatically create competence. Experience only creates more experience. It is only when experiences are processed through reflection that they are transformed into competence. And it is only when we begin to question our habitual ways of working that creativity and innovation have room to grow. Work without […]
erik
477 posts
Imagine a building where people are constantly bumping into each other in the corridors. Irritation grows. The work environment deteriorates. For several years, people try to solve the problem by putting up signs, painting arrows on the floor, building wider corridors and introducing rules for how people should walk. Each […]
Imagine two people trying to understand the future. The first person thinks for a long time before saying anything. He doesn’t want to be wrong. He formulates a single, well-thought-out forecast about what will happen and then sticks to it. If reality changes, he often tries to explain why it […]
Imagine that you are standing in front of the mirror and thinking about changing your appearance. You can choose to put on a new hat. If you don’t like it, you can take it off five minutes later and no major damage has been done. You can also go to […]
Imagine you are buying an old house. At first glance, it looks charming, but when the renovation begins, you soon discover that the house has been rebuilt for over a hundred years. One room was once a porch. A kitchen has been moved. The electricity has been redone several times. […]
You go into a store to buy a work jacket. It is available in navy blue, dark blue, medium blue, light blue, sea blue, gray blue, blue black, cobalt blue, steel blue and sky blue. It comes in a number of green, yellow, rose-red shades. In addition, each color is […]
Imagine two teams given the exact same task. The first team consists of four people who have been given clear goals, clear instructions, and clear requirements. They know exactly what needs to be delivered. They know why the company needs the results. They understand the importance of the assignment. But […]
Imagine a region investing billions in new wind power. The technology works. Electricity is produced. Emissions are reduced. The project is considered a success. But a few years later, you discover that the transition has not been as extensive as hoped. Industry still uses fossil fuels to a large extent. […]
Imagine a road outside a growing city. Every morning it is filled with cars. The queues are getting longer. Accidents are increasing. Frustration grows. Politicians, planners and residents agree on the problem. The road is not enough. The solution seems obvious. A new road is being built. More lanes. Better […]
Imagine a person standing in front of the mirror and saying that they would like to be stronger. They want to be fitter, have more energy, and a body that can handle bigger challenges. They read books about exercise. They follow fitness profiles on social media. They watch videos about […]
Imagine a team where everything seems to work. People laugh together. They share ideas before they are fully thought out. Someone tells about a failure and instead of being met with criticism, the person is helped to understand what happened. The discussions are lively. Perspectives differ but this is seen […]
A colleague once told me that he tried to stop putting sugar in his coffee. It wasn’t his first attempt. He had tried several times before. He knew it would be better for his health. He knew that he didn’t really need the sugar. He also knew that many others […]
It often starts almost imperceptibly. An invisible line in the room. A meeting at a company. Someone leans back in their chair and says: “The problem is that management doesn’t understand reality.” Someone else nods immediately. A few minutes later, the room has been divided into two invisible camps. Us […]
An art student sits in front of his laptop, staring at an image that an AI generated in four seconds. It’s a landscape in the rain. The light reflects off the puddles with almost absurd precision. The color tones feel well thought out. The composition is strong. The student zooms […]
The strange thing about truly elegant ideas is that they almost always seem obvious only after someone has already thought of them. Like when someone turns a ketchup bottle upside down before putting it back in the fridge. Or when someone puts a receipt in a shoebox right after the […]
The most interesting thing in a meeting is often never said out loud. Everyone has been there. Someone shows a PowerPoint with thirty-two slides about “future collaboration strategy”. The words are well chosen. The diagrams are nice. No one objects. People nod politely. The coffee is lukewarm but professional. Then […]
Few things move as slowly as people who think they understand each other. It might sound strange. One spontaneously thinks that misunderstandings should arise when people speak different languages. But the really dangerous misunderstandings often arise when everyone uses the exact same words and nods around the table in agreement […]
It often starts with a meeting that smells of coffee and efficiency. Someone says, “I have an idea.” Then something strange happens quickly. One person leans back and asks about the budget. Another wonders if there’s already a competitor doing the same thing. A third points out that “we actually […]
The most important thing on the page is often what is not there. Imagine a poster where every millimeter is filled with text, colors, symbols, logos and exclamation points. Someone obviously wanted to say everything at once. The result is almost always the opposite. Nothing sticks. The eye does not […]
There is something fishy about perfect things. There are hotel rooms that are so perfect you almost feel uncomfortable. Everything is white, straight, quiet and polished. The pillows lie as if they had been raised in the military. Not a grain of dust is visible. Not a scratch. Not a […]
Imagine the following scene. A young manager walks into a meeting and says that the organization should stop optimizing what already works and instead start experimenting with something that is not yet yielding results. The room falls silent. Someone coughs a little strategically. Another starts talking about budget discipline. After […]
A programmer stays up late at night and posts code on the internet because it feels interesting. Some others start using it. Someone improves it a little. Someone builds on it. Suddenly half the internet uses the same basic technology and billion-dollar companies start making money on something that was […]
There is a particular type of meeting where someone leans forward, looks seriously at the PowerPoint and says: “We need to make sure that this initiative is strategically important and has a structure that we can present to everyone before we move on.” It sounds very sensible. The problem is […]
There are few things that feel as strangely satisfying as throwing away an old box that you’ve been moving around between storage units for ten years without ever opening it. You lift it. You look at it a little uncertain. You feel a slight twinge of guilt. And then something […]
Imagine someone telling you that you are not creative. That you miss that little something extra. That spark that some seem to have and others don’t. Most people accept it pretty quickly. You place yourself in a compartment. Creative or not creative. But what if the problem is not that […]
Imagine waking up tomorrow and everything you read confirming exactly what you already believe. All articles nod in agreement. All analyzes point in the same direction. All the comments seem to be written by people who think just like you. It almost sounds like the dream of a rational society […]
There is something almost comical about how much time organizations spend on strategy and how little actually changes. People gather, analyze, discuss and formulate. Everyone agrees that something needs to happen. Nevertheless, most things continue as usual. It is rarely due to a lack of will. It is due to […]
Imagine a big dinner where everyone contributes something. Someone brings bread, someone cooks a stew, someone arranges music and someone brings wine. The atmosphere is good. There is community, laughter and the feeling that this is something we are doing together. In the middle of the dinner, someone stands up […]
It always starts the same way. A meeting is booked with good intentions. Someone has thought that this is important, that this will create direction, commitment and maybe even a little energy. But somewhere along the way something happens. The presentations get longer, the discussions shorter and the participants quieter. […]
You sit there late one evening and look at your account. Three months ago it was full steam ahead. Customers were calling, invoices were being sent, everything felt like it had finally loosened up. Now it’s quiet. The calendar is empty. And somewhere in the back of your mind there’s […]