Reflections 11 July

What's been on my mind

One of the great benefits of not being focused is that it allows observations and ideas that would otherwise not make past the "focus filter" to make themselves present. That was the case for me this week on a trip to Surrey, which I wrote about here. The observation has proved to be quite "sticky" and has stayed with me. I cannot unsee what I saw.

We have gated communities of one sort and another all around us, not just in leafy Surrey. They exist in Board Rooms, Clubs of all types, and pretty much anywhere there is something indefensible to defend. The fences and gates are professional networks and language, schools and colleges. They have always been with us, but globalisation has made them much more powerful. Whereas the majority used to be local or national, now they are international.

The big challenge with gated communities is that they are defensive. When we need them to change, they are built to resist. that's their job, and it's a problem.

It is interestin…