The Athanor

Sign in Subscribe

Richard Merrick

Increments

Increments

There is a quiet power to increments. Almost unnoticeable individually, they gather together until, suddenly, everything is different. Compound interest is about increments. So is nigredo, the initial stage of alchemy that starts transformation quietly and unnoticeably at first. It does not need permission, nor can it be invoked; it

A Time for Lunatics

A Time for Lunatics

Last Wednesday, I promised you a historical precedent for the kind of collective practice I think we need in times of change of this magnitude… Between 1765 and 1813, a small group calling themselves "lunatics" met monthly in Birmingham during the full moon. They claimed the extra light

Renewal Depends on Individuals, Not Institutions

Renewal Depends on Individuals, Not Institutions

Every few years the Global Innovation Index tells us who's winning. Switzerland still tops the list. South Korea and Sweden hover near. The United States and Singapore circle the podium. China has nudged into the top ten. The UK, still rich in research, design, and creativity, has slipped

Going Freehold

Going Freehold

I realised I was a renter when my blog host locked me out of my email list. Nothing dramatic, just an authentication requirement before I could contact my own subscribers. Sensible policy, rather clunky execution. But the moment crystallised something I’d been circling: I don’t own this platform.

Hedging our Careers...

Hedging our Careers...

In investing, one of the standout strategies of recent years has been Harry Browne’s so-called “permanent portfolio”, an eccentric 25/25/25/25 split between stocks, bonds, gold and cash. It runs against orthodoxy, ignoring theories of weighted allocations or maximising expected returns. Yet, as The Economist recently reported,

Craft before Content

Craft before Content

If you are getting this post for a second time, apologies. There was a wrinkle getting Ghost to do this, now resolved. (note, good service once problem surfaced) We’ve read the books on strategy, taken the courses on innovation, and attended the conferences on leadership. Subscribed to the newsletters,

Equivalence

Equivalence

Alchemy doesn't scale. In a world defined and measured by productivity, efficiency, and profit, we've lost sight somewhere along the way that each one of us is individual. We are not defined by our credentials. We are not easily comparable. There is no measure of equivalence.