Why a pre-mortem? (and how to run one)
To give yourself a better chance of success, before you commit to your next digital project, first spend 30 minutes imagining its failure.
Topic
ways of thinking
A collection of 92 issues
The discipline of focus, what makes a digital strategy work
Good digital strategies aren’t long documents or laundry lists. They’re about ruthless focus - choosing a clear direction and sticking to it, even if that means letting go of attractive ideas. Here are some of the characteristics that make them effective.
Reimagining purpose, value, and dealing with pressure
Many cultural leaders admit their organisations feel unsustainable. True resilience comes from reimagining purpose, not outputs or buildings, but the core that makes them indispensable to the public.
This week's best things
Lessons from a museum cyberattack, Welsh AI content support, the EU’s plan to fix cookie law chaos, a doomsday prediction tracker, hat/haircut/tattoo decisions, why writing in books boosts memory, Amazon’s decline, team focus research, cultural bias in GPT, and sitcoms in Yugoslavia.
Not all decisions are equal (or why you shouldn't treat your hats like tattoos)
In cultural organisations, too many decisions are treated as irreversible. Using the “hats, haircuts, tattoos” framework could help leaders distinguish between low-stakes and high-stakes choices, speeding things up and building a culture of trust.
This week's best things
ACMI’s new experience principles, org design beyond charts, Neil Williams’ monthnotes, Tonga’s offline crisis, post-literate society worries, attention as agency, NGO ad parodies, Maintainers study guide, and positive results from Basic Income for Artists.
This week's best things
Copenhagen trips, upcoming talks on AI + digital failure, and a load of good reads: on daydreaming, content structures, gateopeners, the myth of engagement, and why prompting is a design act. Plus rain maps, Lego Globe, shark tracking, and a truly dreadful novel.
DACI, RACI, RAPID, and PANDA: ways of assigning roles and responsibilities
Clarity doesn’t kill creativity but confusion definitely can. When roles and responsibilities are unclear, projects stall, decisions unravel, and frustration grows. This piece explores practical frameworks that bring just enough structure to help teams cut through the mess.
This week's best things
The importance of taste, AI’s impact on culture, and why boring beats hype. Plus product thinking, buy vs build, learning organisations, Gen Z heritage, bias, action traps, and the end of social media.
Build vs buy? That's possibly the wrong question
Cultural organisations often ask whether to build or buy digital tools, but that skips a more important question: are you ready for what comes next?