One month into Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and the news is still better than most analysts expected it would be. The Ukrainians are fighting valiantly and the Russians appear to be bogged down. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has become the highly capable, charismatic, and stoic leader that his country and the world need right now. What […]

If you want to persuade people, then you need to keep five key things in mind, and to seamlessly integrate as many of them into your communication as possible: encourage their dreams, justify their failures, allay their fears, confirm their suspicions, and help them throw rocks at their enemies. For those of you who read […]

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began two weeks ago, Western journalists and commentators have been looking for a way to explain President Putin’s motivations and war aims. They have frequently considered whether he is, or isn’t, rational, and what it would take to make him stop Russian military action. What I hear when I […]

I feel compelled by a bone-deep sense of shame to write this blog post about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the West’s pathetic response to the invasion. It is the morning of Monday, 28 February, as I write this post, so lots of things might change by the time you read this blog. Before […]

During the first year of my Master of Media in Strategic Communication, I decided to listen to Robert Cialdini’s book, Influence, to add depth to what I was learning in class. At the time, I enjoyed listening to his anecdotes, analysis, descriptions of his experiments, and his conclusions. The importance of reciprocity, social proof, scarcity, […]

After a twenty year career analysing situations to work out what the problem is, and what can be done to improve the situation in question, I think I have finally come to understand why it is rare for The Problem to be directly and successfully addressed. Whether I was preparing material to teach University students, […]

If 2020 was the year of COVID-19 shock, and 2021 has become the year of COVID-19 exhaustion, then what will the emergence of the Omicron variant mean for 2022? I am not a medical professional and have no intention of offering medical advice. I have spent most of my professional life analysing security risks, and […]

I always look forward with anticipation to listening to General Stanley McChrystal’s new book. From listening to My Share of the Task in 2013 onwards, I have come to know that Stan McChrystal will masterfully combine experiences from his life and career, the issues that had to be overcome, the approach he took to getting […]

I always look forward with anticipation to listening to General Stanley McChrystal’s new book. From listening to My Share of the Task in 2013 onwards, I have come to know that Stan McChrystal will masterfully combine experiences from his life and career, the issues that had to be overcome, the approach he took to getting […]

www.facebook.com/events/1218299331914118/ Many of you already listen to Blind Insights, and most of you who read my blog posts have seen the podcast page here on my website. As much as I like writing my thoughts down to share with you, the idea of getting to answer your questions in real time is genuinely exciting. Please […]