Folks,

For as long as I can remember, I thought that one of the shortcuts to success was who you know. I'm not sure I chased it that hard, though - a good university, a good job, and a few people in the know. What's not to like?

I'm sure that "who you know, not what you know" is a shortcut at times, but is it really worth chasing? What if "it's not what you know, but who you know" meant something different:

"Who challenges you?"

"Who connects you to new perspectives or ways of working?"

It got me thinking about one of my mentors, Donella Meadows, a renowned systems thinker. Although Donella is sadly no longer with us, her influence remains.

This week, I asked Claude to help me apply an envisioning framework that Donella developed to my eldest entering the final years of school.  You can take a look here. I welcome your feedback. 

I’m going to leave you with a quote that got me thinking this week from Shelby Copeland. Shelby is one of a growing number of practitioners who are designing learning for the older population. No longer satisfied with helping people exercise, Shelby and others are exploring ways that encourage us to find our edges. 

“One of the most radical things we can do is design for failure and fun.” — Shelby Copeland - Force of Nature Movement.

Play nicely,

Simon

P.S. If the email above has inspired you, I’d love to hear what you're working on. Just hit reply to this email. And if you have a friend who you think would find this content useful, feel free to hit the share button.