Realising the Future of Work

  A large part of my passion for music was forged in the fires of the Wind Bands of my youth – if you can describe such collectives as “fiery”. This is the story of how I fell into them – and then of how the conductor within me was born… Whilst it wasn’t the first instrument I learnt to play, the saxophone has become the bedrock of my musical endeavours and certainly the instrument I am most fond of. To those who know me as a musician, I am a Saxophonist foremost, a Flautist secondly and a hobby Pianist very much thirdly (at best). What drew me to the saxophone was not just the infamous sound and pleasing aesthetic – but also the surprising versatility of the thing. Stronger together As a young musician initially focussed purely on solo piano studies, I had not experienced much in the way of ensemble playing. That was until I picked up the shiny yellow parp machine and had a good old blow. Here was something that was far easier to play, sounded way cooler, and opened up loads of op...

  As part of the “Beyond Professionalism” series, today we take a look at the concept of structure in the workplace. What is the significance of “structure” for us as human beings and why should we be pushing for more of it? How do you go about defining structure from chaos? Read on to find out more… Our lives are not predetermined – or at least, most of us would probably like to think so. The thought of living out a life that was preordained by some higher power, our bodies simply that of a puppet in some elaborate, cosmic play doesn’t tend to appeal to many. Whilst it might not be possible to easily prove that such a thing as free-will exists, the deterministic nature of the laws of physics keeping us so tightly constrained to events that have happened before, most of us still feel like we do. Which, at least for now, is certainly good enough for me. That being said, none of us likes to live completely without some form of structure. Our days are of fixed lengths. Our years, depe...