Writing

On this page you can find my best articles to read on topics like entrepreneurship, media & entertainment, coaching, creativity, and network thinking.

I started writing here in 2015, and there are now over 350 articles on these pages, as well as various videos, slide decks, mixtapes, diagrams, and other ideas.

You’ll find articles on what to do when you’re not killing it, how to start a podcast, the value of the Educator in Residence, the best way to build your network in a new city or country, and much more.

Ready to jump in? You can browse using the categories below, or scroll down to see every post I’ve written listed out by date and title.

Best articles by category

Career Fuel

Ideas and resources to move your career forward

Education & Learning

The future of learning – from short-form workshops to alternative universities

Media & Entertainment

What’s hot, what’s not, and where it’s going next

Entrepreneurship

Making stuff, breaking stuff, and keeping it all together

Coaching

The coaching mindset and why it matters

Resources

Actionable worksheets, templates and tools

All articles by date

2020

  1. How to calculate the time you need to create a workshop July 14, 2020
  2. How to run a workshop for the C-suite June 26, 2020
  3. A Workshop Canapé June 16, 2020
  4. Workshop Creation: Any Questions? May 28, 2020
  5. How to turn up the dials in your next workshop May 27, 2020
  6. A simple recipe for working independently April 26, 2020
  7. Pre Game / Post Game April 26, 2020
  8. How to cook up a tasty workshop April 23, 2020
  9. Crossing the online course chasm April 11, 2020
  10. This ain’t no webinar April 10, 2020
  11. How to create an interactive workshop in Zoom (Part 2) April 2, 2020
  12. How to create an interactive workshop in Zoom April 2, 2020
  13. The Entertainers April 2, 2020
  14. Back to The Tension March 26, 2020
  15. The Dollar Bill and The Golf Ball March 26, 2020
  16. How to design a workshop slide deck March 16, 2020
  17. The Workshop Stack March 10, 2020
  18. 5 ways to run better remote workshops March 5, 2020
  19. The Joy of 6 March 4, 2020
  20. 4 Workshop Mindsets February 3, 2020
  21. The new alumni January 15, 2020
  22. “What do you mean, ‘a workshop’?” January 13, 2020
  23. Opening Credits January 10, 2020
  24. Connecting with Art January 10, 2020
  25. Co-Founder Conflict: NFI? January 7, 2020
  26. Building the 10 key skills for 2020 January 6, 2020
  27. Unlearnings from the improv class January 6, 2020

2019

  1. Thinking in Bits December 28, 2019
  2. Undertaking a 2019 Annual Life Review (Guide & Template) December 11, 2019
  3. Serious Fun December 10, 2019
  4. Life’s a Pitch…but for who? November 26, 2019
  5. The Tension: Chaos / Order October 29, 2019
  6. The Tension: Time / Energy October 22, 2019
  7. Why the future of learning is in the middle October 16, 2019
  8. The Tension: No One Cares October 15, 2019
  9. The Tension: Natural / Rounded October 1, 2019
  10. The Question: ‘So, what do you do?’ September 24, 2019
  11. The Tension: Microscope / Telescope September 17, 2019
  12. No AC to DC September 11, 2019
  13. A new podcast: The Tension September 9, 2019
  14. Overwhelm, Skateboards, and a new podcast August 27, 2019
  15. The Secret August 27, 2019
  16. Stories around the fire August 22, 2019
  17. SXSW 2020: The Remix August 8, 2019
  18. On Stage August 6, 2019
  19. The Educator in Residence August 1, 2019
  20. Coaching: Three agendas for exploration July 31, 2019
  21. When you see… July 31, 2019
  22. Orbiting the Orbit: On Tour Again July 30, 2019
  23. Talking to Humans: Go anonymous July 30, 2019
  24. Talking to Humans: No intro, no get-go July 30, 2019
  25. I don’t do name tags July 30, 2019
  26. Fear, Envy, and Contempt July 24, 2019
  27. Group Dynamics: Sitting in Circle July 16, 2019
  28. What was it like? July 10, 2019
  29. The important thing before on-boarding July 9, 2019
  30. Learnings from the other side of an accelerator program June 27, 2019
  31. Great (Un)Expectations June 27, 2019
  32. The Educator’s End Credits June 25, 2019
  33. Alchemy before Chemistry June 24, 2019
  34. No Reply = No Interest? June 22, 2019
  35. Work labels: word salad and connotations June 19, 2019
  36. Switching to Annual View June 19, 2019
  37. Lucky Number 7 – and a 40-degree day June 17, 2019
  38. Two types of role model June 17, 2019
  39. Positioning: Get Uncomfortably Narrow June 15, 2019
  40. The Vessel & The Lens June 15, 2019
  41. KPIs: The slide snap June 14, 2019
  42. Sampling: You don’t know it until you’ve tried it June 8, 2019
  43. Dominant Design May 29, 2019
  44. A simple way to get unblocked May 25, 2019
  45. The perils of a chain reaction May 22, 2019
  46. 22,000 songs in your pocket May 21, 2019
  47. The Circuit May 19, 2019
  48. Are you running a meetup or a workshop? May 18, 2019
  49. Back to business school: the new case study May 18, 2019
  50. Freelancer to Entrepreneur: The Forest, The Mountains, and the Water May 15, 2019
  51. Labels In, Labels Out May 15, 2019
  52. The Music Industry’s 73% May 10, 2019
  53. Book Request: The Coaches May 10, 2019
  54. Going Solo? You’re still in the Rat Race May 10, 2019
  55. Why we need to get rid of ideas May 10, 2019
  56. Becoming a wizard May 8, 2019
  57. Empty Tank May 7, 2019
  58. Coaching for creative inspiration May 2, 2019
  59. Overrated Mentors, Underrated Coaches April 30, 2019
  60. The Rotation April 26, 2019
  61. Ghosted: from URL to IRL April 25, 2019
  62. Two Tunnels April 24, 2019
  63. ™ April 19, 2019
  64. Keep it boring April 16, 2019
  65. Bonus Content April 15, 2019
  66. Learning Styles: 3D Mapping a Conversation April 12, 2019
  67. Signposts and Surprises April 6, 2019
  68. Cultivate your questions carefully April 5, 2019
  69. The two workshop danger zones April 4, 2019
  70. Dress Up, Dress Down. April 3, 2019
  71. Game Time: History Repeating April 3, 2019
  72. What the music industry’s people need next April 2, 2019
  73. A lot can happen between now and never April 2, 2019
  74. The Rise of the Residency April 1, 2019
  75. Over Indexing March 30, 2019
  76. Question time: Getting booked to speak at conferences March 26, 2019
  77. Gateway Drugs March 26, 2019
  78. Stand Up if… March 24, 2019
  79. Cross Training: The ChefTender and The KitBar March 23, 2019
  80. The 2 Voices March 22, 2019
  81. Natural or Rounded? March 21, 2019
  82. How to start a podcast: a plan for success March 19, 2019
  83. Coaching: Spinning our Wheels March 19, 2019
  84. Study Skills: The Reading Mesh March 14, 2019
  85. Insider, Outsider March 13, 2019
  86. Learning / Unlearning: Everyday Carry, Backpacks and Left Luggage March 13, 2019
  87. LA Story: Get to The Hour March 7, 2019
  88. The one presentation slide to keep you on the edge of your seat March 1, 2019
  89. Idea Fuel: The Creative Observer March 1, 2019
  90. The Kitchen February 28, 2019
  91. Battle Scars February 28, 2019
  92. Coaching: Preparing for job interviews February 28, 2019
  93. How to build your network in a new city, country or culture February 27, 2019
  94. 3 flavours of workshop February 26, 2019
  95. Introducing Coffee Notes: A template for better meetings February 26, 2019
  96. Beyond the 1 hour meeting February 25, 2019
  97. 7 Lessons from Jim Collins on The Tim Ferriss Show February 25, 2019
  98. Hit Making: The Generation Game February 25, 2019
  99. Suggestible, Susceptible? February 22, 2019
  100. The Portfolio Career Podcast February 22, 2019
  101. The Prestige February 21, 2019
  102. 80/20 in Group Dynamics February 21, 2019
  103. Your Dunbar number February 21, 2019
  104. Career Fuel: Be Like Bowie February 20, 2019
  105. The arcade of the multiple mirrors February 20, 2019
  106. Winning at the great game: How to improve student results February 20, 2019
  107. Tension February 20, 2019
  108. The 2 most important slides for your workshop February 19, 2019
  109. The Crier, The Glue, The Word, and The Arrow February 19, 2019
  110. How to articulate your vision in 4 post-it notes February 19, 2019
  111. Tickets Podcast: Gary Chou and Christina Xu on entrepreneurship education and harnessing the power of networks February 18, 2019
  112. Coaching: Stories can lead to solutions February 15, 2019
  113. Bringing the Essential Mix to work February 15, 2019
  114. Pressure brings performance – or does it? February 13, 2019
  115. 5 x Why, 5 x Who February 13, 2019
  116. “You had to be there” February 12, 2019
  117. The Action & The Juice February 12, 2019
  118. Tickets Podcast: David Lavin on representing some of the world’s leading intellectual talent February 11, 2019
  119. Design Thinking: Culture and Contraceptives February 7, 2019
  120. 6 lessons from going live with Oprah February 6, 2019
  121. The Gallery February 5, 2019
  122. From the Magpie to the Hummingbird February 4, 2019
  123. A simple way to overcome nerves and anxiety in a first meeting February 4, 2019
  124. Getting to grips with my Inner Critic February 4, 2019
  125. Why we should think more like Detroit’s techno pioneers February 4, 2019
  126. Managing the feeling of being scattered February 4, 2019
  127. Tickets Podcast: University Ventures’ Daniel Pianko on new opportunities in higher education February 4, 2019
  128. Employee of the Month February 1, 2019
  129. Should you be Standing Out, or Fitting In? January 31, 2019
  130. Rules of the Game January 30, 2019
  131. Finding mentors & advisors: 1:1 or a roster? January 29, 2019
  132. Avicii: True Stories: A tale of tragedy, excess, indifference, and home truths January 29, 2019
  133. The key to spreading your ideas January 29, 2019
  134. Trade-offs January 29, 2019
  135. Trust, Lock-in and Switching Costs for Coaches, Consultants, and Advisors January 28, 2019
  136. Tickets podcast: Marc Lewis on running the world’s most awarded advertising school January 28, 2019
  137. Career Fuel: What do they remember you by? January 25, 2019
  138. When is it hard to do, or easy to finish? January 25, 2019
  139. 5 common myths about coaching January 23, 2019
  140. Workshop Slide Deck (guided): Lifecycles in products, companies, and careers January 22, 2019
  141. On the guestlist: Making season 1 of the Tickets podcast January 21, 2019
  142. Tickets Podcast: SXSW’s Todd Hansen on live event programming and spotting talent & trends January 21, 2019
  143. My Podcast Gear: recording, editing, and publishing January 20, 2019
  144. Why Penn & Teller ignored the audience January 19, 2019
  145. Navigating Uncertainty: Climbing the Ladder, Going out to Sea January 17, 2019
  146. Location Arbitrage January 17, 2019
  147. It’s hard to tell other people’s stories January 17, 2019
  148. Coaching: 15 things that make your heart sing January 15, 2019
  149. Hiring? Look out for the goalkeeper January 15, 2019
  150. The trouble with saying No January 14, 2019
  151. Tickets Podcast: Adobe’s Andrea Rosen on creativity and the future of work January 14, 2019
  152. Beyond The Happy Meal: products to transcend generations January 14, 2019
  153. Trend Spotting: How to identify what’s coming next January 11, 2019
  154. Concealing the Clues: Lessons from TV & film writers January 11, 2019
  155. Tickets Podcast: Betaworks’ James Cooper on building products, brands, and communities January 7, 2019
  156. Knowing what’s more trouble than it’s worth January 3, 2019

2018

  1. Undertaking an Annual Life Review (a Guide & Template) December 28, 2018
  2. Best of… December 27, 2018
  3. Diving Deep as a Coach December 27, 2018
  4. What kind of artist are you? December 27, 2018
  5. Tickets Podcast: Rob Fitzpatrick on how to create compelling workshops, programs and products December 24, 2018
  6. 2018 List: Podcasts December 21, 2018
  7. Build, Buy, Borrow, or… December 21, 2018
  8. 4 Podcast Trends for 2019 December 20, 2018
  9. The Microscope & The Telescope December 17, 2018
  10. Two quick tips on Trend Spotting December 17, 2018
  11. 7 things I learnt in 2018 December 17, 2018
  12. Tickets Podcast: Duolingo’s Laura Nestler on growing global communities December 17, 2018
  13. Being Typecast December 14, 2018
  14. Demo Night December 14, 2018
  15. The Quick No December 11, 2018
  16. If Jobs were Houses December 11, 2018
  17. Lowercase skills December 11, 2018
  18. Tickets Podcast: Kano co-founder Alex Klein on fostering curiosity and creation through technology December 10, 2018
  19. Open Source: My reading list December 2, 2018
  20. The fissures on your path December 2, 2018
  21. How to create your own personal investment thesis November 26, 2018
  22. Pressing pause on Tetris scheduling November 26, 2018
  23. Life Advice from Underground Resistance & Marcus Aurelius November 25, 2018
  24. Career Fuel: 3 elements for making deals as a freelancer or consultant November 21, 2018
  25. The Player-Manager’s dilemma November 21, 2018
  26. Untangling Time & Energy November 14, 2018
  27. 3 elements of a successful entertainment venture November 13, 2018
  28. From Code School to Podcast School November 9, 2018
  29. Why you should say less than necessary November 6, 2018
  30. The rise of Edutainment November 1, 2018
  31. Company Name* (required) October 30, 2018
  32. Introducing season 2 of the ‘Tickets’ podcast October 29, 2018
  33. Shipping, Unshipping and the Creative Handbrake October 23, 2018
  34. Mind the Gap: A primer on Biases and Mental Models (slide deck) October 23, 2018
  35. How to facilitate your first class, workshop or training session October 4, 2018
  36. Listening to other people’s conversations October 4, 2018
  37. Introducing Sustainable Foundations September 20, 2018
  38. Intensity or Technique? You choose September 18, 2018
  39. 3 circles for managing control, influence, concern, and anxiety September 17, 2018
  40. 5 lessons from Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola September 10, 2018
  41. How to survive your first year living in NYC August 29, 2018
  42. Forcing Mechanisms August 28, 2018
  43. Tall Stories – the importance of storytelling July 16, 2018
  44. Jiu Jitsu, Influence, and Persuasion for creative businesses July 13, 2018
  45. The California chef’s foundations July 10, 2018
  46. Origins, Beliefs and Declarations July 9, 2018
  47. Why teachers are the new DJs July 4, 2018
  48. Tickets Podcast: Scaling human connection through music with James Beshara (Head of Music, Airbnb) June 4, 2018
  49. Tickets Podcast: Building a global electronic music brand with Elrow’s Victor de la Serna May 29, 2018
  50. Connecting different dots May 23, 2018
  51. How connected is your community? May 21, 2018
  52. Tickets Podcast: What’s next in travel & tourism ticketing with Leith Stevens of Redeam May 21, 2018
  53. Tickets Podcast: The evolution of spaces to places with Bart Higgins, Partner at WhatIf Innovation May 14, 2018
  54. Tickets Podcast: Fusing music and technology with Sonar Festival’s Ventura Barba May 7, 2018
  55. Protected: Protected: What we learnt from 31 weeks as accountability partners April 30, 2018
  56. Tickets Podcast: Storytelling in VR with Time’s Mia Tramz April 30, 2018
  57. Here’s your perfect brief April 25, 2018
  58. Are you built for the big company? Take a tip from Ripley April 25, 2018
  59. Tickets Podcast: Blending digital technology and physical space design with Parc Office April 23, 2018
  60. Enjoy the silence April 18, 2018
  61. Tickets Podcast: Building, financing and operating arts and music spaces with Dhruv Chopra (Elsewhere Brooklyn) April 16, 2018
  62. Tickets Podcast: Talent programming from nightclubs to auditoriums with Dave Gamble (Royal Albert Hall) April 13, 2018
  63. Career Fuel: signal vs ability, illicit activities, and the future of work April 6, 2018
  64. Tickets Podcast: Next generation guestlists and Nordic innovation with Johan Ekelund (CEO, Keyflow) April 2, 2018
  65. What’s your circle of competence? March 27, 2018
  66. Tickets Podcast: Curation and community with New York Times’ Michelle Grey-Campion March 26, 2018
  67. Tickets Podcast: The future of the built environment with Ross Guttler, VP at Delos March 24, 2018
  68. Advisor, Mentor, Coach, Counsel: what’s in a name? March 22, 2018
  69. Tickets Podcast: Vincent Marini on taking the magic of Broadway across the globe March 17, 2018
  70. Tickets Podcast: Andre Lorenceau on live sports broadcasting in VR March 17, 2018
  71. Career Fuel: Portfolio planning for the full stack freelancer March 7, 2018
  72. Tickets Podcast: Debs Armstrong on bespoke experiential March 7, 2018
  73. Career Fuel: How to get paid like a DJ March 7, 2018
  74. The freezer or the morgue: a quick primer on innovation March 7, 2018
  75. Tickets Podcast: Adam Morallee on international boxing and brand partnerships March 1, 2018
  76. Introducing ‘Tickets’: a podcast exploring the world of live experiences February 21, 2018
  77. Why do we ignore our middle chapter? February 16, 2018
  78. Lifelong Learning: Going spartan February 7, 2018
  79. Protected: Career Fuel: Social proof in the world of work February 7, 2018
  80. Building creative businesses: The Power of 3 February 2, 2018
  81. Are you an artist or a frame maker? January 28, 2018
  82. Finding your hook: Merchandising the Stallone way January 26, 2018
  83. Music Business: How to choose an agent January 24, 2018
  84. Credit to the Edit January 23, 2018
  85. The Intrapreneur in action January 22, 2018
  86. Introducing the Operator’s Handbook January 22, 2018
  87. If Sesame Street did nightclubs… January 12, 2018
  88. Introducing Zorro: projects for hybrid talent January 3, 2018
  89. Harness your curiosity. Beware the Magpie. January 2, 2018

2017

  1. The secret of success? Forget about it… December 19, 2017
  2. 8 workspace trends for 2018 December 7, 2017
  3. Your customer list is worth nothing December 4, 2017
  4. Three way traffic December 4, 2017
  5. Introducing Ohm: the talent agent for your career November 9, 2017
  6. What gives you away when you least expect it? November 7, 2017
  7. How to map your next career move November 7, 2017
  8. How to rent an apartment in New York October 18, 2017
  9. Startup scoping: Swimming back to shore August 17, 2017
  10. When you’re not killing it August 7, 2017
  11. Transfer Market or Academy? July 30, 2017
  12. A workspace for your tribe May 26, 2017
  13. Behind the scenes at Europe’s most eco-friendly major music festival March 8, 2017
  14. Video stream: The Future of Human Attendance (panel session, 1/3/17, London) March 5, 2017
  15. 5 lessons from a day with 300 next-generation creatives February 19, 2017
  16. 7 lessons from the story of CAA January 4, 2017
  17. How one club night became the turning point for my business January 3, 2017

2016

  1. Could you take a bite out of your own business? October 30, 2016
  2. Depression in the music industry: Here’s one thing no one is talking about August 14, 2016
  3. Observations from the airport August 9, 2016
  4. Overwhelmed by startups? There’s a spreadsheet for that August 2, 2016
  5. The rise of the remixer June 22, 2016
  6. Note-taking, creativity and 80s action movies May 22, 2016
  7. 10 years later: mind the gaps in the live music sector May 6, 2016
  8. My Local – London March 27, 2016
  9. So you wanna be a boxer? March 24, 2016
  10. The Bookshelf: Boris Johnson meets the $12m Shark March 23, 2016
  11. Where’s the mentoring in the music industry? February 14, 2016

2015

  1. What have artist managers, football coaches and startup studios got in common? November 16, 2015
  2. Getting down to business in South America July 30, 2015
  3. This may be the future of UK music July 8, 2015
  4. 10 questions to ask when working with artists May 25, 2015
  5. Ways to Win in Electronic Music May 16, 2015