This is a short story about two very different approaches to designing the first generation of commercial jet aircraft. The British de Havilland Comet was the world’s first commercial jet airliner. Its four engines were buried inside the wing roots, close to the fuselage. It was an elegant aerodynamic solution: embedding the engines reduced drag and produced a remarkably clean aircraft.....
To Escalate Early or De-escalate Later?
One thing has struck me recently. Most conflict-resolution experts talk about de-escalating workplace conflict. That makes sense because, by the time managers or HR become involved, the issue has usually developed into a serious workplace conflict. Emotions are high, positions are entrenched, relationships have deteriorated, and the priority is understandably to calm things down. But what if the problem of conflict resolution is being approached from the wrong direction?
The Spatz Escalator Pitch
What is the future of addressing workplace psychosocial hazards? For us, and perhaps for many in this field, the answer is becoming clear: AI-assisted, real-time psychological safety. But what does that actually mean? In our view, it means every team member having a standard toolkit and process that helps make speaking up private, transparent (when required), and consistent.
Workplace Disagreements, Objections, Complaints and Conflict Conflation
Workplace disagreement, objection, and complaint are three distinct, open or unresolved interactions. Yet they are often conflated under the broad label of "workplace conflict". We think this confusion makes ordinary disagreement feel dangerous, makes the person disagreeing appear difficult, and leaves minor concerns about behaviour unnecessarily complicated and confusing to address and resolve.
The Speak Up Toolkit and Accountability Process
Many organisations encourage people to speak up. Far fewer provide a clear, fair, and proportionate process for what happens next. Without a shared process, speaking up can feel uncertain. People hesitate because they do not know how their concern will be received, whether it will escalate unnecessarily, or whether it will simply be ignored. A Speak Up Toolkit should do more than encourage conversations. It should guide them.
We Systemised Hamburgers 70 Years Before Fixing Psychosocial Hazards
In the 1950s, McDonald’s did not transform fast food by simply expecting employees to work faster or telling them, “Make a burger with a patty, and make it fast.” That instruction described the desired outcome, but not the process. Instead, the the McDonald brothers studied every movement. They designed the kitchen layout, clarified each role, standardised the sequence, created machines, set timing expectations, specified ingredients, created quality checks and established what should happen when something went wrong....
Psychological Safety AND Accountability
Psychological safety AND accountability are often treated as competing ideas. I think they become easier to understand when we separate the problems that, I believe, are designed to address....
The Story Behind SpatzChat™ and SpatzAI
Over 20 years ago, I was in a travel startup meeting with my brother and a well-known industry advisor. We were discussing a potential investor relationship. I raised a concern bluntly, saying that we should warn the investors about us. In my view, we were not well matched. The response was immediate. I was labelled a loose cannon. My brother agreed. I withdrew, feeling like the odd one out. The investment went ahead....
It’s the Process, Stupid.
I've spent years thinking about the apparent tension between psychological safety and accountability. Psychological safety encourages people to speak up. Accountability expects people to own their behaviour. Both are important, yet many organisations struggle to achieve either. Why? I suspect we're looking at the wrong end of the problem....
SpatzChat™ Escalator Pitch
You know that feeling you get when someone unfairly and subtly puts you down after you share a radical idea at work? If it happens repeatedly, many people eventually complain about the person to their manager or HR. But what if you could safely address this behaviour, privately and in real-time, instead of waiting for them to repeat it? That’s what we do.
Object123 