102: Road Signs, Rapid Prototypes, and Productive Confusion

105: We've rebranded... Trigger Strategy is now Tentacles by Crown & Reach

Hands up, who else loves a spot of brand-flavoured navel-gazing?  Two years ago we picked the company name Trigger Strategy Group in a last-minute scramble for our first client project. The name has, shall we say, one or two issues. (On the upside, it was a perfect example of Hard Test Easy Life: if you can make something work despite its flaws, you know you might be onto something.) But it was about time we gave things some proper thought. * How naming a company in 20 minutes can haunt you for 2 years * The surprising violence baked into “trigger strategy” (thanks, game theory) * The difference between command, control, and cephalopods * What bees, psychiatric hospitals, and chatGPT have in common In short, our company is now called Crown & Reach, and our podcast is called Tentacles. Why? To find out, you'll have to listen... References: * Hard Test Easy Life https://triggerstrategy.substack.com/p/stop-polishing-turd-products-with [https://triggerstrategy.substack.com/p/stop-polishing-turd-products-with] * Innovation Tactics Pip Deck https://pipdecks.com/products/innovation-tactics [https://pipdecks.com/products/innovation-tactics] * Dave Kang's Octopus Life https://davekang.substack.com/ [https://davekang.substack.com/] * Taylorism - Frederick Taylor’s scientific management model * Coherent Heterogeneity, a concept from complexity thinking https://cynefin.io/wiki/Common_fallacies [https://cynefin.io/wiki/Common_fallacies] * Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky * Other Minds by Peter Godfrey-Smith * Crown & Reach Website https://crownandreach.com/ [https://crownandreach.com/] Trigger Strategy Podcast has evolved into Tentacles – the podcast from Crown & Reach. You can find all our latest episodes here: https://shows.acast.com/tentacles [https://shows.acast.com/tentacles] ... and more information about our work and resources at crownandreach.com [https://crownandreach.com/] ... and you can contact us through tentacles@crownandreach.com [tentacles@crownandreach.com] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

104: Snakes in a cave, or why biases aren't bugs

In which we sit in the garden, roast gently in the sun, and talk about cognitive biases, Panglossian optimism, Russian roulette, snakes on planes, and why most design is... fine actually. A very one-take kind of episode. Leaf-in-coffee energy throughout. * Confirmation bias affects individuals. But if you want to harm an entire organisation, you need validation. * You can be right, they can be right, or (more likely) you’re both missing something and a third way exists. * Heuristics are usually good. It’s when you step into a new context that they betray you. * Change start with acceptance. Weirdly, that’s when things can shift. * Almost everything on our shelves is poorly designed in some way ... and yet it’s still there. Links, Ideas, and People Referenced * Gary Klein – firefighter heuristic/pattern recognition story – more at https://youtu.be/QKpMLYwLRR4?si=8ie9txFbL__Q88gI [https://youtu.be/QKpMLYwLRR4?si=8ie9txFbL__Q88gI] * Daniel Kahneman – cognitive biases, focusing illusion * Nora Bateson – snake instinct, context-specific intuition * XKCD’s "10,000" Comic – https://xkcd.com/1053/ [https://xkcd.com/1053/] * Taylor Pearson on Ergodicity – https://taylorpearson.me/ergodicity/ [https://taylorpearson.me/ergodicity/] * Prisoner's Dilemma – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner%27s_dilemma [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner%27s_dilemma] * Candide by Voltaire – Dr. Pangloss and "all for the best" satire * Gary’s Economics (YouTube) – https://www.youtube.com/@garyseconomics [https://www.youtube.com/@garyseconomics] * Oliver Burkeman – stress, lateness, perspective * 10–10–10 Rule – “Will I care in 10 minutes, 10 months, 10 years?” Trigger Strategy Podcast has evolved into Tentacles – the podcast from Crown & Reach. You can find all our latest episodes here: https://shows.acast.com/tentacles [https://shows.acast.com/tentacles] ... and more information about our work and resources at crownandreach.com [https://crownandreach.com/] ... and you can contact us through tentacles@crownandreach.com [tentacles@crownandreach.com] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

103: Competence, control, and consequences

You were hired to fix it. You did! Customers are happier. The company made millions. Your reward? They shut it all down. We sit on a garden bench and talk about those times when you feel like you're being punished for doing your job well. It turns out you can't mostly change a narrative with data. Your choices are power, influence, or acceptance. We share real stories, reflect on past mistakes, and explore safer (?) ways to inspire change when truth-telling gets you sidelined. Along the way: multiverse mapping, toddler psychology, and why the best performing landing pages often don't stay live. Books & Articles: * Stealing the Corner Office by Brendan Reid * Power: Why Some People Have It—and Others Don’t by Jeffrey Pfeffer * Why Design is Hard by Scott Berkun * Why Your Org Doesn’t Want Optimization to Succeed [https://cxl.com/blog/organizational-push-back/] by Andrew Anderson * How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie * Ramit Sethi’s framing: “If someone is succeeding doing something that looks stupid… what do they know that I don’t?” Frameworks & Tools: * “Show the thing to change the thing” – concept from John Willshire * Wardley Mapping [https://learnwardleymapping.com/] * Multiverse Mapping [https://multiversemapping.com/] (Trigger Strategy Substack) * Play the hand you're dealt [https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/play-hand-youre-dealt/1489781] – "Don't start with what you want people to do. Start with what people want to do." – Dave Trott Character References: * Wormtongue and Gandalf (Lord of the Rings) – models of influence Trigger Strategy Podcast has evolved into Tentacles – the podcast from Crown & Reach. You can find all our latest episodes here: https://shows.acast.com/tentacles [https://shows.acast.com/tentacles] ... and more information about our work and resources at crownandreach.com [https://crownandreach.com/] ... and you can contact us through tentacles@crownandreach.com [tentacles@crownandreach.com] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

102: Road Signs, Rapid Prototypes, and Productive Confusion

While sipping homegrown bay leaf tea, we explore how road signs, surprises, and deliberate confusion can unlock better thinking. From missing signs under railway bridges to the tangled journey of Google Glass, we trace how aporia — the ancient art of being productively confused — can help you build faster, align better, and see the hidden struggles that are gonna derail your projects. * Why some signs should disappear to make things flow better * How "productive confusion" can trigger better decision making * What Google Glass, magic roundabouts, and fast food kitchens have in common * How to rapid prototype a billion-dollar product... with clay and wire * The curse of "pseudolignment" and how to catch it before it wrecks your team * The Align-o-matic: an emerging tool to help you spot hidden assumptions early Linky goodness: * Magic Roundabout (Swindon, UK): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roundabout_(Swindon) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roundabout_(Swindon)] * "A symphony of efficiency, not a waste of motion" from The Founder: https://youtu.be/F-7cjdtrQ9Y?si=3eyzPlVq71Ws-R8o [https://youtu.be/F-7cjdtrQ9Y?si=3eyzPlVq71Ws-R8o] * Tom Chi rapid prototyping: https://youtu.be/d5_h1VuwD6g?si=h29WjP8xvX3vxPak [https://youtu.be/d5_h1VuwD6g?si=h29WjP8xvX3vxPak] * Rory Sutherland on defensive decision-making: https://fs.blog/defensive-decision-making/ [https://fs.blog/defensive-decision-making/] * Zeigarnik Effect: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeigarnik_effect [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeigarnik_effect] * We may have confused Zeigarnik with Ovsiankina: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovsiankina_effect [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovsiankina_effect] Innovation Tactics cards we mentioned: * Language Market Fit: front [https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/zelznlek8ku7raa3pc5qa/Probe-Language-Market-Fit-Front.png?rlkey=4k4p5wyt4x0uez44poke6ul27&dl=0] | back [https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/909uclxq14ufc3ujh3kiw/Probe-Language-Market-Fit-Back.png?rlkey=771zii3atfc0svmuqs2jm4iue&dl=0] * Solve for Distribution: front [https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/f4a1i1qvf8kritc0birp2/Focus-Solve-For-Distribution-Front.png?rlkey=qfndcbralbziylzj0hkfgf4v0&dl=0] | back [https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/40drbzxvy9c4zpuf8q523/Focus-Solve-For-Distribution-Back.png?rlkey=1dka88ysgqcix5x8v4dkivzv7&dl=0] * Hard Test Easy Life: front [https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/vb132xwouquf2jv4gki1e/Focus-Hard-Test-Easy-Life-Front.png?rlkey=u12celwjdjpaklg8rde80cclq&dl=0] | back [https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/tiusaohzvb0seewjsqayd/Focus-Hard-Test-Easy-Life-Back.png?rlkey=hpggmxu6h6l73s8ybb5l7008k&dl=0] * Time Machine: front [https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/03evnhpo3wtwup1y1zlcb/Focus-Time-Machine-Front.png?rlkey=1plr4omyivvlvpr1a0fu763a8&dl=0] | back [https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/c6b55ps7w39dtaye1j3m0/Focus-Time-Machine-Back.png?rlkey=klnhfhwqgm6z6dvbd30uuvdbj&dl=0] Get your copy of Innovation Tactics: https://pipdecks.com/products/innovation-tactics Trigger Strategy Podcast has evolved into Tentacles – the podcast from Crown & Reach. You can find all our latest episodes here: https://shows.acast.com/tentacles [https://shows.acast.com/tentacles] ... and more information about our work and resources at crownandreach.com [https://crownandreach.com/] ... and you can contact us through tentacles@crownandreach.com [tentacles@crownandreach.com] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

101: What's NOT emergent?

We often talk about things being emergent in business, strategy, and life at large.  The problem is, emergence can be kind of a pain to wrap your head around. And we were wondering: what if the starting point is what's NOT emergent? Does that help clarify what IS emergent? So we sat down in the garden and chatted it through.  We landed on the discipline of conversion rate optimisation as an example of a business area where an understanding of emergence (and its opposite, if you could call it that) is fundamental to success or failure. Our conclusion was that it was indeed a helpful conversation, but we want to know – what do you think? Linky goodness: * Andrew Anderson's website: https://testingdiscipline.com/ [https://testingdiscipline.com/] * Andrew Anderson's story about Comic Sans: https://cxl.com/blog/organizational-push-back/ [https://cxl.com/blog/organizational-push-back/] * Dave Snowden and Cynefin: https://cynefin.io/wiki/Cynefin [https://cynefin.io/wiki/Cynefin] * Signals, Stories, Options: https://triggerstrategy.substack.com/p/signals-stories-options [https://triggerstrategy.substack.com/p/signals-stories-options] * Pivot Triggers: card front [https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/4oxu5ykaxbr3x89waqa0e/Signals-Pivot-Triggers-Front.png?rlkey=1ncfrrle0nll4doa5t0vrfxah&dl=0] | back [https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/a0ie2u52uxy73monu2uug/Signals-Pivot-Triggers-Back.png?rlkey=owolual5ebzhtl7jf4wnoth3j&dl=0] * Multiverse Mapping: card front [https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/01qcj7ajnx3xsicpfpvgb/Focus-Multiverse-Map-Front.png?rlkey=q1f8qjnb9f0t7v3msplncxg39&dl=0] | back [https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/schmd3i1orgg477vge3ru/Focus-Multiverse-Map-Back.png?rlkey=35br472gr81v6qx4ygbggyv43&dl=0] * Tom's Pip Decks card deck, Innovation Tactics: https://pipdecks.com/products/innovation-tactics [https://pipdecks.com/products/innovation-tactics] * Master Multiverse Mapping (online course): https://multiversemapping.com/ [https://multiversemapping.com/] * Episode 39 about Bounded Applicability https://shows.acast.com/triggerstrategy/episodes/663109cbcff31b0012ae9306 [https://shows.acast.com/triggerstrategy/episodes/663109cbcff31b0012ae9306] Trigger Strategy Podcast has evolved into Tentacles – the podcast from Crown & Reach. You can find all our latest episodes here: https://shows.acast.com/tentacles [https://shows.acast.com/tentacles] ... and more information about our work and resources at crownandreach.com [https://crownandreach.com/] ... and you can contact us through tentacles@crownandreach.com [tentacles@crownandreach.com] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.