June 2025

MonthNotes

Hi, welcome to my MonthNotes — reflective notes looking back over the past month, loosely based on a set of questions which help me reflect. They’re my own personal notes, views, etc.

“Attention is the beginning of devotion.” Mary Oliver

Reflecting regularly increases happiness, productivity and job performance and decreases the likelihood of burnout. And the process itself of writing these notes helps me.

“To give your sheep or cow a large spacious meadow is the way to control him.” Shunryu Suzuki

1. What went well?

• I got the green light for a new project. This decision followed some ‘minimum viable planning,’ which required a huge amount of getting my ducks in a row across numerous teams in order to test my riskiest assumption. I was helped along by great support from my boss and a super simple but crucial prompt question from Oli Lovell on my MVP approach: “Is it viable?”
• A face-to-face meeting of one of my teams
• I graduated from my 3-year professional training in Somatic Experiencing:

• I trained with the Table Group and became a certified Working Genius facilitator:

2. What did you fail with?

• I failed to give enough clear guidance/direction to an external facilitator

3. What did you experiment with?

• Building on exercises I have shared, I tried out Dr Raja Selvam’s movement and body resources for self-regulation and addressing overwhelm
• Chatting with Aiden Cinnamon Tea (HT Zoe)

“What I’m seeing is that our relationship with AI isn’t just about productivity or efficiency. It reveals something deeper about who we are and how we want to present ourselves in the world.” Maria Connolly

4. Who or what inspired you?

• Vanessa Machado de Oliveira Andreotti, aka Dorothy Ladybug Boss:

I don’t know what I think about her work with Aiden Cinnamon Tea — I found it mind-blowing, wild, weird, disturbing, disconcerting, and potentially important…

“Is that a decision or a reaction?”

5. What made you proud?

• Pure Impact AI, a storytelling module, powered by GenAI, that turns complex data into compelling stories of impact
• Elsevier won an award at the Thought Leadership for Tomorrow awards:

Our winning submission, **Towards the 4th Generation University,* was born from working closely together to meet the needs of our partners at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and 12 other organizations. The judges said it “shaped a new language for measuring impact in higher education” and “highlighted its ability to influence funding policy and academic strategies across borders, giving universities hope that they can better communicate their real-world impact to drive public investment and institutional change in global higher education.”[](https://events.iresearchservices.com/tlft/tlft-awards-2025-meet-the-winners/) Big congratulations to everyone who helped to make this happen.

• Elsevier has once again been recognised as a top employer in the global Comparably Awards. Elsevier ranked #1 in the world for both Career Growth and **Best Leadership Teams **and came in the top 10 in several other categories. These rankings are based solely on direct, anonymous staff feedback (in Elsevier’s case from nearly 3,000 colleagues).
• Elsevier’s communications and recuiting teams were recognised in three categories at the internal communications and engagement awards 2025 for their ‘Diversity at Elsevier’ campaign — an outstanding piece of work, which did an amazing job of sharing our inclusion story externally

6. What questions gave you pause to think?

Reflecting on mindfulness and resilience following the LIFO Global Coaching Summit, Sayaka Linashi asked these three questions:

• How can I recognize the signs to slow down, especially on days when I’m rushing from one thing to the next?
• How do I find a non-judgmental self-perception when things get stressful or uncertain?
• How often do I create space for my grounding before I hold space for others?

7. What did you learn?

• Building on what I picked up last month on decisions, I like the way James Clear distinguishes between three types of decision: hats, haircuts, and tattoos (HT Adrian Howard)
• The ladder of inference is a mental model of how we make decisions and take actions based on our interpretations of the world around us. It can help you recognize why you make certain choices and spot gaps in your reasoning (ie any missing rungs/steps in your ladder):*

“The University is not engaged in making ideas safe for students. It is engaged in making students safe for ideas. Thus it permits the freest expression of views before students, trusting to their good sense in passing judgment on those views.” Clark Kerr, President of University of California, 1961

8. What else did you learn?

• “MIT makes more money from selling T-shirts than it does from licensing.”*
• The penny just dropped for me that it works like this:

“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.” Carl Jung (HT Stefan)

9. What did you get reminded of?

• A predictable environment helps people show up as the best version of themselves
• When the Supreme Court was part of the House of Lords, and the Law Lords were discussing a case they had just heard before giving judgment, the most senior law lord would always share their opinion last:

“Leaders go first with vulnerability, last with opinion.” Elliot Moon

• Tom Loosemore’s definition of digital is as relevant as ever (HT Neil Williams*)

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” Xunzi

• Before we had words, we had rhythm. Music influences our nervous system, so we can use music intentionally to shift state, restore regulation, and enhance performance:

“ if you’re in a state, the state drives the story.”* Dr. Jeffrey Rutstein

“Change the body, change the talk.” Dr Raja Selvam

• I like Julian Opie’s work:

https://www.julianopie.com/exhibitions/2024/sculpture-city

• Lois Tonkin’s model of grief — and it’s helpful to renenber that it’s not linear:

Source = https://www.kenziesgift.com/post/grief-theories-and-how-to-take-them-or-leave-them

• Lencioni’s conflict continuum:*

10. What books did you read?

• The Flowing Bridge: Guidance on beginning zen koans, by Elaine Macinnes
• *Miscellaneous koans: A course of koan study*, compiled by Harada Daiun Sogaku, Hakuun Yasutani, & Yamada Kōun

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.” Marianne Williamson

11. What poems touched you?

• ‘A poem I found,’ by RN

How beautiful A poem made of love Spreading love Filling me with love Received with love And rebounding with love Boundless ripples everywhere

• ‘Hum, Hum,’ by Mary Oliver
• ‘I found a dead fox’, by Mary Oliver
• ‘Ah not to be cut off,’ by Rilke
• ‘Entangle,’ by Tony Hoagland
• ‘One Heart’, by Li-Young Lee

“Ten thousand flowers in spring, the moon in autumn, a cool breeze in summer, snow in winter. If your mind isn’t clouded by unnecessary things, this is the best season of your life.” Wumen

• ‘Wonderful,’ by Harry Baker (HT Kirsten)
• ‘Embarrassed,’ by Hollie McNish (HT Kirsten)
• ‘We Shall Be Known’ by MaMuse (HT Katherine)
• ‘Healing Paths’, by John Tarrant
• ‘Healing is like kissing,’ by John Tarrant
• Haryô’s three turning words*

12. What was fun?

• Hearing The Ale House Boys playing one of their Ale House Sessions — joyous live music
• Listening to Sef Townsend tell stories (HT Wonder Monger)
• Discovering a mulberry tree in the middle of Spitalfields in London
• Playing bucketball (HT London sports festival)
• A daytrip to Mersea Island: sunshine, lying on the beach, swimming in the sea, and seafood
• Meeting up with friends:

13. What did you enjoy?

• Seeing colleagues in person
• Seeing a frog in our garden for the first time in a few years
• Poppies:

14. What are you looking forward to in July?

• Seeing my Dad