John Craig
Associate
John is Director of The Innovation Exchange, which works to grow innovation from the third sector
- Professionals and managers There is a good comment piece in the FT today (subscription required) about Production Values Stefan Stern, who was good enough to attend the launch, picks up on Richard Reeves' suggestion that the greatest threat to professionalism is managerialism. Like many private sector fads, he argued, the surest sign that it is outmoded its wholesale adoption by the public sector. Come back professionalism, all is forgiven continue reading on 11th July 2006
- Return of hoodie two shoes 'The first time as tragedy, the second time as farce'. David Cameron wants to be tough on crime and the causes of crime. The government think he's gone soft, accusing him of a 'hug a hoodie' strategy. It reminds me of the 'hoodie two shoes' featured in Start with People. Hug away, Dave.Home Office Minister Tony McNulty described the Tory leader's speech as 'wash-and-go politics'. Anyone? 'A day like today is not a day for soundbites, really - we can leave them at home - but I feel the hand... continue reading on 10th July 2006
- Long Games When they introduced the three-point line in basketball it was to increase the number of exciting, high-scoring games. The result? The average number of points per game actually declined as players were lured into optimistic shots from "down town". A good lesson, one might hope, in regulation and unintended consequences. Maybe so, but not one heeded by the "suits" at FIFA or the FIA. Today it was revealed that despite a ball that is 4 grams lighter and swerves like a... continue reading on 6th July 2006
- Production Values I'm shamed by my blogging back-log. Last Thursday, we launched Production Values, a collection of essays on the future of professionalism, which includes contributions from Estelle Morris, Charlie Leadbeater, Richard Reeves and Michael Bichard. Perhaps because of my Guardian piece about the collection, we ended up talking about the emotional burden professionals shoulder. There was an interesting debate about the extent to which this burden is sustainable and whether this level of emotional... continue reading on 26th June 2006
- Self-aware not self-obsessed Jay Rosen has an interesting post on Comment is Free, which seems increasingly like the UK's answer to the Huffington Post. He talks about how the media can use online dialogue to make their work transparent and open to challenge without becoming self-absorbed. Rosen is a profesor of journalism and the media commentary on his Pressthink blog has long fascinated me - it's subtitled 'the ghost of democracy in the media machine'. So I am delighted to say that he will explore journalism in... continue reading on 5th April 2006
- New McCarthyism "'Of course,' says Todd Gitlin, a professor of journalism and sociology at the Columbia School of Journalism. 'There's a lot of conservatives in oil. But there aren't a lot of conservatives planning on studying sociology.'"The always excellent Gary Younge has a piece on increasingly concerted attacks on progressive academics in the US. I think this kind of story - a side issue in the journalism of the Bush presidency - may well take centre stage in its history. So it's disappointing to report... continue reading on 4th April 2006
- so that's why the long holidays... ?All in all, modern organization is a contraption designed to make human actions immune from what the actors believe and feel privately.? So said Zygmunt Bauman in his Demos pamphlet, Alone Again. Maybe. Our work on the teaching profession draws on work looking at the blurring of the boundaries between home and work and between professional and commercial life. We argue that, far from divorced from the private feelings, teachers' work draws more on personal and emotional resources than ever... continue reading on 3rd April 2006
- What price politics? How much is good political leadership worth? Billions? Trillions? Very possibly. Today the Tories suggest cutting the number of MPs, not because it will help us to make better decisions but to save a few million pounds. If political parties need state funding, as the power inquiry suggested, surely our politicians should have the courage to put this to the public. Building everyday democracy demands that we face difficult conversations rather than avoid them. continue reading on 20th March 2006
- Why Demos? Well today it's because I was in one of those private discussions with a front line politician. So is politics changing? Are new politics of work-life balance, emotions and identity or the environment on the horizon? "There's very little that politicians can do to bring that about, our job is to chase votes. Real change will have to come from thinkers and the public". It is experiences like this that drive my fascination with the question of where real political leadership might come from... continue reading on 15th March 2006
- Liquid professionalism There has been further coverage in recent days for Richard Sennett's new book about the culture of capitalism. As Will Hutton says, he argues that a culture in which status accumulates with experience is being replaced with one in which adaptablility is seem as the primary professional virtue. This is all very reminiscent of Zygmunt Bauman's work on the 'liquids' triumph over the 'solids', with all writers making much of the psychological as well as the social consequences. Far be it from... continue reading on 13th March 2006