An Outside Perspective

Perhaps it is simply a sign of the times. Or perhaps it is yet another version of myself emerging.

The more digital the world becomes, the more I find myself seeking the analog—the real, the tangible, the authentic. The faster everything moves, the more I am drawn to what is slow. And as the world grows louder, more expressive, and increasingly certain of itself, I find myself turning inward—towards stillness, contemplation, and the quiet practice of looking within.

Rather than always striving towards somewhere, I find unexpected bliss in being nowhere.

I have long claimed that I do my best work when I am not at work. My thoughts become longer and deeper. My mornings fill with curiosity and insight. Creativity seems to arrive with the first light of day, flourishing as naturally as the rising sun.

My first two books were born from decades spent advising executive teams and audiences seeking to navigate the digital era. They were stories about transformation—about organisations striving to adapt, evolve, and grow in a rapidly changing world.

Our new book is something entirely different. Not only due to our - Jens, mine and Toshiki’s - shared perspective on the new world order.

And not necessarily as a reaction to it, but as a counterbalance.

Because in order to be as ’brilliant and broken’* as we can be in the world; in order to see with clarity rather than through the comforting lens of misplaced certainty; we have come to believe that we need to slow down. We need to step outside. To create space. To cultivate a more intentional perspective. On the surface, this will be a book about the conversion of an old house on the outskirts of Kyoto.

But I suspect it will become something else.
And perhaps, of all the transformation work we have spoken and written about, this will likely prove to be the most important one.

*credit to Dale Hunter.