Category: Notes

I get asked a lot how I got to become Co-CEO. On the things I can control, I say it’s because I stay curious.

At 16 during my first job at Burger King I wanted to find out how a BK makes money and the manager showed me. Years later that understanding is something I often replay.

I am curious about other people’s life’s, jobs and interests. Often to discover I am not personally interested about what their interested in and vice versa. Being curious doesn’t mean you have to love the topic. Learn just enough to file it away for a future moment.

Most recently I was curious about how train tracks work, remembering how fibre optics work, key moments in art history, Nick from British museum Wikipedia entry and child poverty.

Wikipedia is a great place to start. Followed by YouTube, podcasts, interviews, books and good old fashioned getting in touch.

im curious about what I’ll be curious about next.

Last year I managed to read 11 books. I’d like to get 12-15 this year

1. Grit by Angela Duckworth finished 13 Feb 2020. Paperback ISBN 9781785040207. In short people can do well in life by practicing and not giving up and this can beat “talent”.
2. The only Investment Guide you’ll Ever Need by Andrew Tobias finished 21 Feb 2020. Paperback ISBN 9780544781931. A witty read that basically suggests you should come back when you have £10,000 or more in savings ha! The section on how to save money is very useful and my aim this year is to try to save 20% of my earnings…..
3. Sprint: Solve big problems and test new ideas in just Five Days by Jake Knapp finished 27 Feb 2020 Paperback ISBN 9780593076118. A short guide with case studies on how to tackle a problem and produce a prototype in five days. Lots of useful tips I’ll be trying out this year.
4. Red Notice by Bill Browder finished 19 April 2020 kindle isbn 9781448170937
5. Guns, Germs & Steel by Jared Diamond finished 3rd May 2020 Paperback 9780099302780. Huge thanks to my local bookshop for delivering during the pandemic!
6. Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Richard Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein paperback ISBN 978014104001 finished 14th June 2020. A highly readable look at how using “nudges” we can help ourselves and others make better decisions – useful for home and work.
7. The Spook Who Sat by The Door by Sam Greenlee finished 26 June 2020. Paperback ISBN 9781943138173. A really good read that is about one black man’s vision set his people free.
8. The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi finished 10 July 2020. Paperback ISBN 9780575088894. My first SF novel in ages and it was good to be lost in other worlds!
9. How to Stop Worrying & Start Living by Dale Carnegie finished 29th July 2020. Kindle. A short run through of things we worry about and letters from people who came out the other side – a good read during the pandemic
10. Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire by Akala finished 13 August 2020. Kindle. We’re both born the same year and so much of his descriptions of his teens and 20’s match mine (London / Bristol) – from literally countless stop and search*, school folks murdered, shots fired, and the mix of Ghanaian/UK/USA influences. Akala is a gifted writer and I really enjoyed this book. I have seen him rapping live in the past too so it is nice to reconnect too. Highly recommended. *Ive been stopped walking, cycling, driving/passenger and motorcycle.
11. How To Be An Antiracist by Dr Ibram X. Kendi finished 27 August 2020. Kindle ISBN 9781473570979. Just read it!
12. Hell Yeah or No by Derek Sivers finished 29th August 2020. Kindle. A book about making things happen. Each chapter is 1-2min read and concisely gives you food for thought and more importantly action…or not. Many of the chapters are also available via his podcast if you prefer to listen. Derek donated all $250,000 raised from the books sold to the Against Malaria Foundation.
13. Your Music and People by Derek Sivers finished 6th September 2020. Kindle. I respect music enough not to play any instruments and I def can’t sing or rap ha. This book is aimed at helping “musicians” to get their work out in the World BUT you can replace “musician” with any other role and find Derek’s suggestions useful. I really like that creativity isn’t limited to the actual songs but is just as true for marketing/business/connection. I’m looking forward to my print copy later this year.
14. The Art of Possibility by Ros Zander and Ben Zander finished 13 September 2020. Kindle. A good format book that asks us to transform how we can open up our world view and from I to We.
15. The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company by William Dalrymple finished 6 October 2020. Kindle ISBN: 9781408864401. The book details how a company grew into an “empire within an empire” and is as much a business book as a tale of the horrors of war, greed, betrayal and loot. Recommended.
16. Manifesto for a Moral Revolution: Practices to Build a Better World by Jacqueline Novogratz finished 21 October 2020. Paperback ISBN 9781250798770. Such a great book. Jacqueline has been around the globe countless times helping people to make sustainable businesses that have a real social impact. I think it is an important book for anybody in business but certainly those of us in the non-profit sector. In a time of needing revenue more than ever Jacqueline shows that patient capital is where we can really add value.
17. It Doesn’t have to Crazy at work byJason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson finished 17th November 2020. Paperback ISBN 9780008323448. As Sara and I start to lead BMT this week and England is in national lockdown I wanted to re-read this book which is packed full of 1-2 page suggestions for working remotely and having a calm company. With most staff having to remain at home until at least 3rd December now seems like a good time to help us all remain calm digitally at least. I see no reason that we as a cultural sector can’t remain calm and use digital tools with intent from now. I don’t want being in the office to be a sign of “doing the work”. It isn’t physical vs remote, it is taking the time in 2020 to see if there is another way to leap from how things were to fixing some of our old habits that may be comfy but not as effective as the tools and processes of 2020 could let us be. Plenty of good reasons for human contact too!
18. The First 90 Days by Michael D. Watkins finished 17th November 2020. Kindle. As I embark on my first CEO role this week I wanted to sense check with Sara how we’ll get momentum. Although we have all of the parts in our heads, this book brings everything together so was worth the read. Working as a job-share it is good to have reference material to align. I like how the guide is aimed at all job levels too. If I had to choose one highlight it is “build credibility early” as nobody knows you from your old success. Otherwise known as a trust battery.
19. Range – Why Generalists Triumph in a specialized World by David Epstein finished 30th November 2020. Kindle. A really good book that uses lots of examples across fields to show that generalists do well not just specialists. A chapter towards the end describes me well and uses the term Polymath which seems pretty fitting for me – someone who covers lots of areas inside and outside my current domain, without any-longer being a specialist (in my case computing/digital). I’ve previously read some of the research examples such as Grit (see book 1 above). I have talked a lot about “T-shaped” skills being ever more important in the culture sector and this good is a handy nod to this being one of the possible futures you could choose.
20. The Whole Picture: The colonial story of the art in our museums & why we need to talk about it by Alice Procter finished 4th December 2020. Hardback ISBN 9781788401555. I was really looking forward to this book and it didn’t disappoint. I often like to ask “why” and Alice doe’s a really good good of answering the “why” regarding types of museum, objects and stories that are shown and not shown to the public with an eye on colonial history. Each chapter gives you helpful context with an easy to understand rationale, making the book an easy read for a big subject. The conclusion chapter is something i’ll be dipping back to regularly as my role means that i’m part of the problem but can also be helping lead on readdressing. How can we get over ourselves as people who want to stay employed but yet have a duty to evolve, unlock the stories and relinquish control to who have been directly affected?, Alice says it best right at the end “We have to keep rethinking, keep reframing who we remember and how”. Personally I find it interesting that my journey from working class kid who has taken an unusual path to being a CEO of “the museum establishment” now affords me an opportunity to collaborate on a future path that can choose unlock with intent. Thank you Alice for such an important reminder.
21. The Practice: Shipping Creative Work by Seth Godin finished 28th December 2020. Paperback ISBN 9780241470046. You should read everything by Seth and I also recommend his podcast Akimbo. Seth makes the point that the only work worth doing seeks to make change happen and you need to be on the hook and stop hiding. The book uses 219 examples to help you remember that you can get better and ship work daily by having a process. I am a fan.