Reflections October 2020 – Week 5
Why are time management techniques important?
October 29, 2020
Humble consulting: Build better relationships with clients
November 5, 2020
Agency musings
Time management
If you missed it, some of the learnings of our time management theme research can be found here
Something thought provoking that came out of the exploration of time: “There are many ways to break something, but only one way to put it back exactly the way it was. Even trying to fix the present, takes us into the future. Based on that no decision can be fully undone. What will you do to embrace that? Especially over the next 6 weeks?”
Inside Polymensa
Team Mintaka
Hiking
Last Friday, a small group of Polymensa agency leaders went for a hike to break up the monotony of everyday Zoom life in 2020. But also in search of the Bluebell Hill Ghost as we marched up the steep hill in the dark.
But no such luck. The only thing we captured was a man who was carrying three different types of extremely hot sauces with him...
Rumour has it he’s known as Dan The Agency Man and wanders around the North Downs of Kent, offering groups of hikers Vodka shots with a dash of hot sauce. Apparently shared pain creates a stronger bond between humans. This was also found in a food experiment run by Heston Blumenthal in the 2015 Heston’s Recipe For Romance TV show: https://vimeo.com/130350084#t=1235s
Check out these Slack discussions from last week
New peer community for HR and People Directors
We launched our peer community for agency People Directors of agencies (with a minimum of 20 team members). If you’d like more information and how to join, here are the details
The beautiful mind
Anchoring bias
Ever been in a brainstorming session and ended up with the first idea that came up - the most obvious. One of the theories behind why we have a tendency as humans to find comfort in the first idea, is that we subconsciously hang on to what we already know. This is known as an Anchoring bias. The challenge with this bias is that despite it feeling like ‘new found’ knowledge, it usually is not. All subsequent ideas, decisions, behaviours will follow this anchor - and lead at the very best to same solution packaged in a different way.
The solution: Get the first idea that everyone agrees on out the way quickly. Bring in inspiration from areas you know nothing about. Then continue the session until you come up with ideas that are far beyond the initial idea.
Quote of the week
“The illiterate of the future are not those who can’t read or write but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”
Alvin Toffler
Company spotlight
Agency Pond
A great idea in principle. Your agency has spare capacity, another agency requires immediate resource. You share talent with each other and the process is facilitated via Agency Pond.
Brilliant
A wonderfully crafted experience of learning subject matters most people never go back to e.g. making maths practical.
Workclub
Possibly a good or bad time for a company like this. With ongoing closures of hospitality venues it might be tricky to sustain, but definitely a business to watch as we explore our ways of working.
Random information
(some useful, some useless)
- Ever wondered who rings the church bells every hour (or quarter past / quarter to)? It surely can’t be a bell ringer that looks like Quasimodo. Siemens must have asked this question too - please welcome the SIMATIC S7-1200 church bell controller. If you’re interested in buying one for your house, view the product description here
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In 2014, Matthew Benham, a former professional gambler who owns a company that uses mathematical models to predict the results of sports matches, took a controlling interest in Midtjylland — a football club from central Denmark. Becoming Danish champions against ‘all odds’ by focussing heavily on the use of data. Read the full article on the Guardian here
Thank you for reading.
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"Be an infinite learner." - Polymensa
Have a great week!
Cheers, Daniel :)
