MarkMorleyFletcher

What if you knew that your next few hours’ work could produce something with a lifetime’s value? Would you approach things differently? In most jobs the average result matters. Consistency matters. If you’re working on a factory line then there’s no upside to making an amazing widget. As long as it meets specifications it’s good … Read more

You can’t hurry creativity. The most you can do is guide and encourage. Just like a seed emerging from the soil it takes its own time. Your job is to provide the perfect conditions for it to flourish… Protect and nurture it… Then let it grow at its own pace. Trying to rush isn’t merely … Read more

You arrive at a stately home in flurries of snow… Inside, a crowd of revelers in costumes and masks — as fancy as anything you could hope to see. Glitter, wigs, elaborate coats and dresses from bygone ages surround you at every turn. A sword fight erupts as you approach the sweeping double marble staircase. … Read more

In a tight spot we look around for a genius to show us the way out. Much better to ask how we got here. That could have helped the people of Easter Island. You know the one.  Alone in the middle of vast tracts of the Pacific ocean. The island dotted with monstrously sized stone … Read more

Research shows that the ability to defer gratification is the secret to success. But what if it actually makes you unhappy? I’ve always struggled with looking ahead. On the one hand, it’s fun to plan out long term ideas and goals. I love that sort of thing (being the analytical and designing sort of person … Read more

Would you ever deliberately and enthusiastically sign up to something you knew was going to frustrate the hell out of you? That’s precisely what I did when I started this writing project. And now I find myself totally fed up. Right in the thick of dealing with the fallout… So, in a delightfully ironic twist, … Read more

People aim to find balance in their lives. They’d better hope they don’t succeed. Maybe this quest for the ideal fixed point comes from an innate desire to be ‘perfect’. Maybe it comes from looking at others and only seeing the ‘reality’ that they choose to present to the world. It’s not important which. We … Read more

If you were responsible for hundreds of people’s lives, would you choose to nap on the job? And would you do it specifically when you felt wide awake? The most dangerous part of a long-haul flight is the landing. And it’s coming at a time when the pilots would normally be most tired. Which means … Read more

Yesterday evening I caught myself doing something totally normal… And realised it was actually profoundly strange. I dictated a voice message into my phone and moved on to the next task. When it suddenly struck me that I hadn’t even bothering to check that it had transcribed the words correctly. I regularly speak rather than … Read more

My plan for helping others is to forget about them completely. This writing I’m doing. Pouring my heart out on the paper every day… Isn’t about you — or anyone else. It’s totally selfish. It’s purely for me and I don’t really care if anyone else reads it or likes it. Here’s why:  I intend … Read more