It made me think about the role of leadership and management as either (1) promoting getting something done, moving things forward, producing…or (2) considering, minimizing risk and preventing errors. So I Googled. I found a quote by Ed Catmull of Pixar, a rather productive and creative company, who has a certain point of view that’s a bit different.

“The notion that you’re trying to control the process and prevent error screws things up. We all know the saying ‘it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission’. And everyone knows that, but I think there is a corollary: “If everyone is trying to prevent error, it screws things up. It’s better to fix problems than to prevent them’. And the natural tendency for managers is to try and prevent error and over plan things.”

And speaking of over-planning, it’s often called “Decisioneering” which is the over-engineering of a simple decision because you can. In fact by using Decisioneering often the event that drove the decision point is over, closed out and has expired by the time the Decisioneered solution has been finalized. (from Urban Dictionary)

For example:

“A committee of analysts commenced a Decisioneering process on how to best go about killing a fly. They considered using a flyswatter, as well as researching, proposing, socializing, re-researching, re-proposing, many other ideas. In the end they decisioneered an elaborate, well researched, and effective Rube Goldberg device. Only then did they notice that the fly had left the room.”

In light of recent commentaries on the “dumbing down” of audiences and culture – for both entertainment as well as higher forms of information such as *newspapers* and literature – another perspective on what seems to be the diminishing ingredient, attention. There are of course books on the attention economy. Other writers have asserted  that content is now so widely available that the creators are scrambling to find their role and value, else they be fodder in an era of “career collapse”. More have looked at the issue of media use and the link to attention problems in kids. But Mr. Michael Erard gives us a thought or two on how he conceives the future when we may, in fact, need to monetise our attention quite directly and specifically. And he ultimately concludes that gifting is what is leaving so much rot in the system.

Regardless of how you feel about nuclear power, the architecture of the familiar hypberboloid cooling tower associated with nuclear power plants is instantly recognizable and undeniably fascinating. These towers stand like silent sentinels, guarding their power stations or simply creating a small spot of interest on the landscape. Many nuclear power stations which have been demolished have left behind their cooling towers, often because it is expensive and complicated to destroy them in a safe manner.

(image via: Wikipedia)

At least one nuclear power plant is taking strides to warm the public to its presence. The Cruas Nuclear Power Station in France commissioned artist Jean-Marie Pierret to create a giant mural on a cooling tower; the mural was finished in 2005 and focuses on the interplay of water and air.

(image via: Gregor Rohrig)

Maybe the most well-known decorated cooling towers in the world are those at the decommissioned Orlando Power Station in Soweto, South Africa. After supplying coal-powered electricity to the area for more than half a century, the plant was shut down in 1998. The cooling towers remain, though – one now sports a huge advertisement, and the other is home to the largest mural painting in South Africa. In addition to being one of the most recognizable landmarks in the area, the site is home to bungee and BASE jumping, a power swing, and various other thrill-seeking attractions.

See all the models here

Image © Peter Turnley

See many more of Peter’s images here.