Cultivated

Work is not neutral. Every system, process, and behaviour quietly teaches us how to act — and who to become. This essay explores why leadership is not just operational, but moral.

A high-stakes meeting, a frustrated client, and a moment where tone mattered more than words. A reflection on how presence, listening, and responsibility can change the direction of a conversation.

Two forces shape almost everything in an organisation: the friction that slows people down, and the rewards that make effort feel worth it. Reduce one, strengthen the other — and work starts to move.

Creativity isn’t a brainstorm. It’s a working rhythm: space to notice, time to explore, then the discipline to build — again and again.

An essay on music, silence, and how rhythm shapes attention, mood, and the experience of modern work.

The five trade skills Paul Hawken identified decades ago remain some of the most important — and overlooked — capabilities in modern work

Strategy is not a plan or a template. It is the act of creating direction — a shared sense of the future, an honest encounter with reality, and movement that allows organisations to learn their way forward.

Journalism taught me how to tell the truth, keep notes, think critically, and protect what matters. These habits turned out to be essential not just for reporting — but for ethical work, leadership, and decision-making.

A reflective essay on escape, attention, and creativity at work — using an old leisure model to explore why capable people disengage, and what it takes to move from numbing distraction back to meaningful creation.