A tipping point

Category: Editorial

We have had a significant change in the UK this week. A couple of weeks ago I went to London on the train. I noticed that we had to wait at several stations in order to get back on schedule, and I thought we had a driver who could not control his speed. Then, it occurred to me that we were running on the special "Leaves on the line" timetable that takes account of the wheel slip caused by leaves getting ground between the wheels and the rail. But the leaves had not fallen. Mid November and still most leaves were on the trees. Most unusual.

We have also had press reports that, after several mild winters, some bird species that normally migrate south for the winter have been staying in Britain.

Coasteering wit TYF at St Davids As you might remember from last week's CorporateCoach, we spent last weekend at St Davids for a team building. On the Saturday we were happily coasteering on the rocks and in the sea, and on the Sunday we did some more outdoor exercises and went for a walk on the beach. It was warm.

Monday morning we had our first frost. A hard one, with ice on the puddles. Since then we have had frosts every day and we are predicted the coldest winter for ten years.

What an instant change – like a switch being pulled.

Such things often happen 'out of the blue' in public opinion and can be surprising if you have not been observing the changes under the surface. Many years ago I was asked by a client why I bothered. After all, he said, "You cannot expect to change anything." "To the contrary," I replied "I have changed several things." Malcolm Gladwell calls it the 'tipping point', when public opinion suddenly changes and something impossible becomes the norm. These are not random happenings, but the result of ordinary people shouting or changing their own behaviour.

In the round room at Twr y Felin, where we held our teambuilding event, there is a frieze that quotes Archimedes: