Nicholas Bate

Mind Games

2012-06-02T06:20:42+01:00

It's twenty years since Robert Harris wrote the gripping and chilling Fatherland (UK link), in which Adolf Hitler won the war. The special edition has a revealing new introduction with the author detailing how he struggled to get the mind game 'right'. But he did. Buried in the book a band called The Beatles is still playing but secretly under the stifling regime.

Jeff Walker (UK link) imagines what might have happened if The Beatles had broken up and had continued their solo careers. As they did and do of course. But if they had also collaborated in packaging their solo efforts into albums still under The Beatles brand. Contrived? Messy? You'll be amazed. You'll see well know songs in different contexts and create some surprisingly fresh play-lists. A clever and well played-out mind game.

Over the weekend, play a mind-game or two. What might I do differently? How could I? What if? The key is always the interaction of the imaginative start (Hitler does win the war) and the relentless attention to detail (photocopiers have been 'invented' earlier but are strictly controlled to avoid dissemination of propaganda). Imagination+concrete detail=whole new world. Which in your case you might want to take further and make real. Background music for your deliberations? John Lennon, of course

Mmmm

2012-06-01T06:23:36+01:00

Nicholas Bate

Don Juan

2012-06-01T06:14:32+01:00

on paths.

Still Consistently Crazy

2012-06-01T06:12:23+01:00

after all these years.

How Super Blogger Michael Wade

2012-06-01T06:11:35+01:00

escapes the fog.

May Redux 15

2012-05-31T05:45:59+01:00

Bonus 1: January Redux

Bonus 2: February Redux

Bonus 3: March Redux

Bonus 4: April Redux

Renaissance Thinker Cultural Offering

2012-05-31T05:45:22+01:00

and the verbs you need for the life you seek.

Paradoxical Productivity. Number 13

2012-05-31T05:43:24+01:00

Know Your Rhythm

Sometimes doing e-mail first when you get into the office is the worst thing you can do. Processing e-mail is often mechanical whereas at that time your thinking is at its best. Early: think, create and solve. Do e-mail, routine team meetings and conference calls later on. Know and follow your rhythm rather than just the Siren's call of pure urgency.

Bonus 1: Professionalism101

Bonus 2: Brilliant at the Basics of Business 100

For Those Of You Celebrating The Queen's Jubilee This Weekend

2012-05-31T05:37:13+01:00

who need a quiet moment with a great thriller (amazon.co.uk links):

R J Ellory: A Dark & Broken Heart. Ellory gets better and better. And he was always really, really good. Marvel at a gripping story, acute observation and marvellous plot, right until the last full stop/period.

Tom Franklin: Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter. Literary, atmospheric, thoughtful. Different to Ellory but as skilled.

Do What You Want: 100 Sound Bites From the book, Number 27

2012-05-31T05:31:17+01:00

'...while employed, notice what provides the real satisfaction of work. And build upon that'

Do What You Want: How To Create A Career You Will Love, the book, now shipping. "it gives the reader inspiration and plenty of useful advice on what is needed to create a lasting change; every point Nicholas Bate raises is illustrated by many practical case studies and underpinned by his own experience as consultant and coach. The book is written in a clear, understandable language, without unnecessary management-speak so that even very complex matters appear simple and even the boldest career decisions Bate writes about seem absolutely feasible."