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The TOWS matrix: a pair of planning spectacles
Why the awkwardly-named TOWS matrix is the strategy equivalent of a new pair of glasses – and how to use it to spot risks and opportunities you’d otherwise miss.
Read the piece
Archive
A small collection of pieces – some about work, some about history, some just for fun.
Featured

Why the awkwardly-named TOWS matrix is the strategy equivalent of a new pair of glasses – and how to use it to spot risks and opportunities you’d otherwise miss.
Read the piece
A short reflection on a line from Bridge of Spies, the appeal of stoicism, and how much of the news cycle is worth letting in.
Pondering
Perhaps the first ever song recorded at the Beatles’ Apple Studio in Savile Row was a garage-rock track called ‘Permissive Paradise’, performed by The Iveys and written by Jeremy Cox.
Miscellaneous
Born on 11 October 1844: Henry J. Heinz, the brainz behind the beanz at the company that turned a horseradish sideline into a global condiment empire.
Born on this day
When Allen Lane launched Penguin Books, many people thought the venture would fail – paperbacks at sixpence each were considered far too cheap to be taken seriously.
Born on this day
Penny Singleton was the voice of Jane Jetson in The Jetsons, but her talents and bravery went far beyond cartoons – she was also a pioneering union leader in Hollywood.
Born on this day
Daniel Inouye lost his arm to a grenade in the Second World War and went on to become one of the longest-serving senators in US history – a quietly remarkable life.
Born on this day
A one-off experiment in randomly time-travelling through British history – politics, culture and daily life on a single ordinary Sunday in November 1802.
Random Date History
A simple three-stage comparison of Drupal and WordPress, two of the most popular content management systems, to help you work out which one fits your project best.
Digital Marketing · Miscellaneous
A presentation I made back in 2014, arguing that charities generally don’t do enough to cultivate the creativity of the people who already care about their cause.
Charities
Nine of the most useful and interesting ideas from Chip and Dan Heath’s book Switch, distilled into a quick reference for anyone trying to make change stick.
Books · Interesting bits
A small collection of extraordinary tourist souvenirs – the gloriously over-designed, the baffling and the sublime – gathered under the working title ‘supertat’.
Silly
Are we living in a political epoch that simply cannot turn left? A short essay on the long shadow Thatcherism still casts over British politics.
Miscellaneous · Pondering
How to use your problem to solve your problem – a note on Douglas Adams, the judo principle, and getting unstuck when you’re properly stuck.
Miscellaneous