Do we really live in a knowledge society?

There are countless terms for our present: the digital age, the Information Society, the Post-industrial Era, the Anthropocene. That’s not even all of them. One of them is the Knowledge Society. And according to various sources, that’s exactly what we’re living in now. Do you feel you live in a knowledge society? I once asked myself this question and these thoughts ran through my head.

Continue reading “Do we really live in a knowledge society?”

It’s alive!

Is it because I’ve just had my first vaccination? It wasn’t AstraZeneca, but I swear our robot vacuum cleaner is alive. It’s a brand-name model. Great thing, especially if you have a dog and not many carpets. Works really well, it’s just a bit noisy. But it’s alive. I checked, the software is not from Microsoft – which eliminates the only alternative explanation. The dear thing drives around the whole flat and picks up dog hair, dog toys, dog food, dog biscuits and dog biscuits and nothing else really – except dog chews.

Continue reading “It’s alive!”

… lost for words

Let’s be clear from the start: This post is not about the excessive use of alcohol! This time it’s actually exactly what it says.

Several years ago, a former colleague and still good friend of mine, a Frenchwoman who lives in Germany, came into the office in the morning completely shocked. She told me that she had spoken to her mother in France on the phone that morning and in the course of the conversation wanted to tell her that she had bought a new bathrobe. But she couldn’t think of the French word for “bathrobe”! She was very startled by this and feared that she was forgetting her mother tongue.

Continue reading “… lost for words”

In Praise of Respite (Part 4)

Inspired by Max Frisch’s questionnaires, the questions below are meant to invite you, dear reader, to reflect on how you deal with breaks. Perhaps you would like to look more closely at one or two of the questions. Perhaps one question in particular concerns you. Take a conscious break and write down what comes to your mind about the questions. In this way learn how you treat interruptions. By reflecting on the questions, you will learn more about your attitude towards “downtime” and whether or not you want to change your specific behaviour. The collection is subjective. Maybe there are other other issues about this topic that you refelect on.  There is so much more to discover…

Continue reading “In Praise of Respite (Part 4)”

“EVER GIVEN” – Has there ever been such a thing?

How the name of the ship fits the situation! Isn’t that funny? Yes, but only for those who have nothing to do with it. But wait: if we drill deeper into this event, we come to a behavioural pattern that should be more or less familiar to all of us: megalomania. This time on a global scale.

Continue reading ““EVER GIVEN” – Has there ever been such a thing?”

Organisational development as the art of living

“The greatest danger in times of upheaval is not the upheaval itself, it is acting according to yesterday’s logic.” (Peter Drucker)

Organisations are living systems

Not everyone has to agree with this, but for me it has become an important insight. To understand the point of my article, I will briefly explain my starting point: One of the first important decisions I made was to revise my image of organisations. I had experienced my employer of many years as a more or less well-oiled machine. But this image finally crumbled when this organisation was compelled to restructure in order to survive in a competitive environment.

Continue reading “Organisational development as the art of living”

… then I automatically think of Prince Charles!

Names are more than just smoke and mirrors

When we were expecting our latest grandchild, my husband and I were asked for our opinion on possible first names. Because the child’s relatives live in the Netherlands and Peru, it should be a name that is familiar in both countries and easy to pronounce in both languages. One of the names on the list was “Camilla” – and I was the one who spoke out against it because of the aforementioned association.

Continue reading “… then I automatically think of Prince Charles!”