Author: Shaun Coffey

Shaun Coffey is interested in future making and institutional building. He is an agricultural scientist who tries to integrate fragmented and sector-specific technical and scientific knowledge to address the wicked problems that characterise the real world.
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The Dynamics of Discovery

From Archimedes to Edison, attempts to improve quality of life have dictated a need for advances in science and technology. These advances are now widely understood as the key enablers of increasingly prosperous societies.

Despite this long history, the process of managing the expanding frontiers of new knowledge in a way that will benefit society is a work in progress. This is largely due to the unpredictable nature of scientific discovery most famously illustrated by Archimedes, when, upon stepping into the bath, he suddenly realised that the volume of water displaced was equal to the volume of the submerged portion of his body.

His discovery provided the solution to the previously intractable problem of measuring the volume of irregular objects and led to further advances in assessing the density and purity of precious metals among other things.

In the modern world little has changed in how new knowledge is acquired. However, in an attempt to get the best value for their limited investments, governments have devised processes to manage its discovery, often with sub-optimal effect.

Continue reading “The Dynamics of Discovery”
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A Thought on Trust And Leadership

“If you aspire to be a highly effective leader, people must trust your judgement and ethics and have confidence in your leadership abilities, believing that you are worthy of authority. In the absence of trust and confidence, nothing else follows. The first task of every aspiring leader, therefore, is to earn the trust of those they seek to lead.“

Leanne S (2009) Say it like Obama. The power of speaking with purpose and vision. McGraw-Hill, New York. ISBN 978 –07– 165589 –1. Page 21

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How to foster ethical behavior

Start with yourself. You are always communicating.

  • Set a high standard by your own example.
  • Emphasise the future rather than the past.
  • Look for and treat causes rather than symptoms.
  • Admit your mistakes and learn from them.
  • Accept responsibility; don’t pass the buck.
  • Consider long-run as well as short-run results.
  • Seek solutions that benefit everyone involved.
  • Use legal and ethical means to achieve legal and ethical ends.
  • Respect the dignity of every individual.
  • Try to understand others and make yourself understood by them.
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Working out loud…..opportunities for an introvert in social media? (Nowhere to hide in the COVID induced online work spaces)

My present enthusiasms include doing (again, it is simply that good) the Harold Jarche course on personal knowledge management, PKM in 40 days , and reconnecting the concept of working out loud.

This is challenging, as the introvert in me screams for this process to be internalised, and screams for a completing of the work before it is shared.  Small talk stresses me out, so the thought of working out load is scary.  It’s easier for me to talk about the complete picture, not the work in progress.  Working with people and in groups drains the energy from me.  I sense a loss of control over my thoughts…I am just not good at thinking out load. And this is really challenging in the digitally-connected, online work environment that COVID-19 has imposed on us – you can’t really take time out and hope to keep up – you either engage in every moment or you lose the sense of things (and you don’t know who is actually looking at you!) The introvert in me didn’t anticipate that.

So, working out loud in the social media might offer some great opportunities…I can put my ideas out in the hope that others can help improve them without…well, without having to be social.  Really? Well, it is really a different way to been social than the (team meeting, or face-to-face, or the social gathering) online meetings.

With social media, I can control the level of interaction and the pace of engagement.  I can create the space I need to recharge the batteries.

I guess I can still be social…work out load…and not raise my anxiety too much. Thus create some time and space for ideas to develop.

This will be (fun) (interesting) (scary) …..sort of like throwing caution to the wind….being vulnerable….learning….

Learning? ……… Acceptable risk