I’ve always believed that to be a Nordic saying, but I’ve been reliably informed it is a quote from the very remarkable Alfred Wainwright, British fellwalker, author, illustrator and a chap who I reckon has seen his fair share of bad weather.  

Being well-equipped with all the right gear to endure stormy weather may not be the stuff of rocket science but it’s appealing to us, and we’ve been giving thought to these metaphors in order to think creatively about how to help business leaders find their proverbial raingear and search out glimmers of silver to line the very dark clouds that abound right now.

We are also pragmatic realists, which means we recognise that contrary to the proverb, not all clouds have silver linings, some are just filled with thunder and ready to burst. Even so, you have to keep thinking, exploring, probing and planning until you find that glimmer of silver and then follow it. This approach is somewhat counterintuitive to the working practices we are taught and typically recognised for in our working lives: Focus on delivery, deliver great execution, and above all, stick to the plan. We love to encourage business leaders to do things differently and learn to think and plan as much as learning to plan and do. That means making time for thinking and building thinking skill sets.

Developing thinking structures and methodologies is critical for the future of any business. Maybe that means much less doing but if that allows routes through to silver linings from the dark clouds, we strongly believe that this will be time profitably spent.