Be ruthlessly serendipitous, with Fred Pelard

Strategic consultant and former rocket-scientist Fred Pelard has worked with brands like Nike, Barclays, the Guardian and more, and is the author of How to be Strategic.

Fred lays out the difference between management and strategic consulting, creating space for structured brainstorming, and solving complex problems.

'Being strategic is a skill, and you can learn it.'

There are four key ways of solving problems, which Fred has identified as the Expert Way, the Analytical Way, the Creative Way and the Strategic Way. He also outlines the Strategic Rollercoaster, which charts the interactivity between creative and analytical thinking.

'You have to be Tigger before you’re Eeyore.'

Graham and Fred discuss W Chan Kim’s successor to the golden rule: “treat others as they would like to be treated”, breaking complex problems down into threes, and the Happy Line.

'There are three different types of jobs: product, process, performance.'

Finally, Fred reveals how he’s able to read between 20 and 30 business books in a month, and shares his skepticism of the “productivity industrial complex”.

Graham Allcott is the founder of time management training company Think Productive.

This podcast is produced by Origin.

✔ Links: 

Subscribe to Graham's Newsletter: 

https://www.grahamallcott.com/sign-up​​

Buy “How to be a Productivity Ninja”: 

http://amazon.co.uk/dp/1785784617​​ 

Our Show Sponsors: Think Productive - Time Management Training:

http://www.thinkproductive.com​​

Useful links:

https://www.grahamallcott.com/links

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.