The Athanor

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Richard Merrick

Conversations as Ecosystem

Conversations as Ecosystem

When we talk about the failure of organisations or societies, our language tends to be structural. We point to broken institutions, outdated business models, political polarisation and technological disruption. Our instinct is to pursue redesign: new strategies, new systems, new rules, new tools. I think this misses the deeper problem.

The Alchemist's Allotment

The Alchemist's Allotment

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius — and a lot of courage — to move in the opposite direction.” E.F. Schumacher, Small is Beautiful If we find ourselves lost, retracing our steps to where feels familiar is not retreating;

A Time for Foolishness

A Time for Foolishness

Working with the uncertain and sensing the emergent has always meant starting before we’re ready. It means experimenting, being prepared to be wrong, and change direction. It means, sometimes, being willing to look foolish. There is an essential difference between being foolish and being stupid. Stupidity is a kind

The Second Apprenticeship.

A place of perpetual discovery. The Two Apprenticeships In Outside the Walls on Sunday, I argued that individuals now learn faster than the organisations they work for, and that the real frontier of development has shifted to smaller, more agile communities of practice. What I did not say explicitly is

From Surviving to Living

From Surviving to Living

This post brings together some of the strands I’ve been working on at Outside the Walls (on the disintegration of old systems), New Artisans (on the role of craft in a digital economy and the power of small-scale), and ongoing reflections on learning and power. It’s an accumulation

A Perspective

A Perspective

In my last post, I considered that we need to make haste slowly. To stand back a little and go back to first principles. What is really going on here? What can we learn from what has happened before? Are we really where we think we are, or are we

Making Haste Slowly.

Making Haste Slowly.

The times are urgent. We must slow down. Bayo Akomolafe If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. African Proverb We seem to be suffering from an epidemic of urgency. Everything around us is geared, even unconsciously, to speed. Exploration plays second