What Will You Read This Weekend?

You might start the Molly Trilogy.

Parts one and two are free for the next couple of days.

Go read a novel.

Unintended consequences

arise when actions yield results that decision-makers neither foresaw nor intended. They remind us that complex systems defy expectations, and good intentions don’t ensure good outcomes.

These consequences fall into three categories: unexpected benefits, unexpected drawbacks, and perverse results, cases where actions produce the opposite of what was intended. Of these, the last category is especially frustrating, as it suggests our intervention made things worse.

Perhaps the most famous example is the “Cobra Effect,” named after an incident in colonial India. The British government, concerned about dangerous cobras in Delhi, offered a bounty for every dead cobra brought to authorities. At first, this approach appeared effective, as people killed cobras for money. However, enterprising locals soon began breeding cobras specifically to kill them and collect the bounty. When the government discovered this and cancelled the program, the breeders released their now-worthless cobras into the wild, worsening the original problem.

This happens often: rent control cuts housing, prohibition raises risky drinking, and social media meant to connect increases isolation.

Understanding unintended consequences doesn’t mean avoiding action; it means thinking through second and third-order effects before implementing solutions. What behaviours might this encourage? Who benefits? What could go wrong? The cobra effect teaches us that the cure can indeed be worse than the disease.

Happy 1st April

Real photo. Real iPhone. Real run. No AI. Phew….

Support Your Local Blogger

Michael Wade has a new book out

I read the kindle version and I believe the paper version is now available. Here’s my amazon review:

Michael is an established business writer via his blog, sub-stack and leadership books but I believe this is his first novel.

It is excellent. There are no explicit spoilers in my review, simply to say it is highly enjoyable, intriguing and well-written. Characters are wonderfully drawn, the plot has pace and I love the language in which it was written. Highly recommended. Five star.

58: A Ball and a Wall

A ball and a wall-tennis ball, handball, any ball really-creates meditative, reflective, physically beneficial play that costs nothing and requires no partner.

Throw the ball at the wall. Catch. Repeat. That’s the activity. But within that simplicity lies a calming that can help you feel relaxed and centred.

It’s meditative: the rhythm-throw, bounce, catch-creates the same focused attention as a breathing meditation. Your mind quiets because it’s occupied with simple repetition, not because you’re forcing it quiet.

It’s reflective: the gentle physical activity frees your mind to wander productively. Problems resolve and ideas emerge. The rhythm allows background processing that sitting at your desk prevents.

It absorbs anger: a frustrating day? Throw the ball harder. The wall does not judge or argue back; it just returns what you give. It’s terrific for mobility: hours of keyboarding create frozen shoulders and stiff backs. Throwing engages your entire body-rotation, reach, movement. It’s unconscious physiotherapy.

I love it and take regular breaks during the day just to play ball against a wall.

Keep a tennis ball in your desk drawer. Five minutes against any wall-office, home, outside-resets body and mind.

No partner is needed. No equipment beyond one ball. No rules. Just throw, catch, think. And be.

The other 69 Tools of Excellence are here.