Wisdom in fragments

Even today, there are 72 countries and jurisdictions where same-sex relations are criminal acts – punishable with penalties ranging from a few years in prison, to life imprisonment and even the death penalty.

Human rights activist & campaigner for LGBTQ+ equality and justice

I am hopeful that we, in Western countries, are on the path towards a post-homophobic society. I was very gratified a couple of years ago to see a survey of 16-24 year olds. When asked about their own sexuality, 49% said they would not define themselves as 100% straight.

Human rights activist & campaigner for LGBTQ+ equality and justice

LGBT+ identity came into existence as a defence mechanism against those who were attacking us. We were being targeted because of our sexual behavior and our love. We had to defend ourselves – that is why we claimed, and asserted our LGBT+ identity.

Human rights activist & campaigner for LGBTQ+ equality and justice

I don't really think about legacy, I'm more interested in my next thing, my next project… my writing is driven by a love of music, and an affection for being around music, and for telling stories… I don't have a grand plan; this is my life.

Renowned composer known for film scores and electronic classical music

A film score is not a symphony, or can it be… when you compose for film, you are part of a larger storytelling structure made up of acting, direction, lighting, cinematography and much more. Collaborating on these projects is a puzzle-solving exercise where you- as a composer- are looking for those things that music can do which the other elements cannot.

Renowned composer known for film scores and electronic classical music

Previously, there were a lot of gatekeepers that controlled how you were supposed to listen to music… you'd walk into a record shop, and there was a special room for classical, and different genres in different places… that's all gone now, and you can follow your enthusiasm and affection for music however you want to. There's something beautiful and liberating about that.

Renowned composer known for film scores and electronic classical music

The way an orchestra is normally structured is cast in the image of what people in the 18th century thought society should look like. It's very top-down, a hierarchical power structure… reflecting the vision of society at the time. I wanted to subvert that by creating a new orchestral structure that reflected how society could be so it came through the musical DNA.

Renowned composer known for film scores and electronic classical music

There are multiple connections between human beings and music. Most fundamentally- we respond emotionally to music- sound is communicative, it affects us, it causes feelings and connections. Sound making and listening are communal activities, they're communicative activities… music moves us, and when we listen to it, we feel transported.

Renowned composer known for film scores and electronic classical music

There are no such thing as low-skilled jobs, there are only low-opportunity jobs where people are treated as commodities. We don't train them.. we don't give them autonomy… we don't give them any financial upside… yet when they fail to be creative, and fail to do more than the job requires, we say they just aren't very clever or capable…. Guess what; if you put someone in leg-irons, they will have a hard time running.

Management theorist & author who revolutionized strategic thinking

We've ended up with organizations that are less capable than the people inside them- which is a little ironic when you think about it. Research shows that 89% of people are happy with the actual tasks of their work yet are frustrated with the work-environment- they are bothered by how they're managed not what they do.

Management theorist & author who revolutionized strategic thinking

In large organizations, a small group of leaders can hold the organization's capacity to change hostage to their own personal willingness to adapt and change – they are the gatekeepers – and even if they have the best will in the world, there simply will not be enough of them to deal with the complexity that we have in the environment around us.

Management theorist & author who revolutionized strategic thinking

There simply isn't enough creativity and bandwidth at the top to deal with the level of complexity and change in today's world. A century ago, information was expensive to acquire and move- bureaucracy was a logical way of bringing information together. The world simply doesn't work like that anymore.

Management theorist & author who revolutionized strategic thinking

We've had hierarchical and bureaucratic structures as far back as we can go in human history. The Chinese civil service goes back to at least 2000BC and militaries have always been structured as hierarchical. Modern bureaucracy is a mash-up of two ideas. Firstly, the command and control structures which have been core to organized human activity for millennia and secondly, the principles of industrial economics.

Management theorist & author who revolutionized strategic thinking

Human progress often comes at great cost to people who are willing to sacrifice for the sake of principles or in defense of the rights of others. It took hundreds of millions of people to die before we created a global security and human rights order and all of these are under stress. One would hate to think it would be another similar amount of deaths before we made more progress.

UN Human Rights Chief & International Justice Advocate

Today's Coronavirus crisis is not a force-majeure, it is a biological phenomenon, the spread of which is an indictment, and commentary on the mediocrity global leadership. It should never have escaped Wuhan, and the fact it has shows a failure of leadership and now the very same people who are responsible for neglecting these issues are being invited to comment on it, and lead our way out.

UN Human Rights Chief & International Justice Advocate

You cannot say you support a values based human rights agenda and have your defense industry dictate the terms of your relationships between states to the extent that you won't criticize states who you sell weapons to. People see this for what it is, they recognise the internal and external inconsistencies and are tired of it.

UN Human Rights Chief & International Justice Advocate