At loggerheads in Manila

I was lead facilitator of a big Unilever workshop in Manila - and the going got tough.

Participating were 50 managers from all over South East Asia, the fastest growing region in the company at the time, and so filled with self-confidence.

The problem was that the Thais and the Indonesians were totally at loggerheads with each other about the way forward. I did what I could to bring about some kind of consensus. No joy.

Eventually my very experienced American colleague, Ned Preble, stepped forward. "Shall I see what I can do?" he asked me. "Be my guest, Ned!" I responded gratefully.

"OK, would everyone who intends to find a solution to this problem step up please," he announced. "You should know, however, that if you choose not to participate, you're agreeing to the solution. Agreed?"

So over the next 30 minutes or so, Ned facilitated a heated, chaotic-seeming scrum of competing voices around a flip-chart. Eventually, the hubbub subsided.

They had the answer.

Remembering Rich Gabriel: 9/11

Rich Gabriel was one of the smartest of my colleagues at Synectics.

He had an intense honesty and clarity of thinking, allied to a sharp, downbeat wit. In many ways he always seemed rather semi-detached at the firm, almost as though he’d joined by mistake.

He had been an officer in the US Marines in the Vietnam War, where he had lost a leg, and was awarded the Purple Heart.

I thought he might make a major contribution if we brought him on to the small management team, so I approached him. He thought about it, dealt with me with great courtesy, and said thanks but no.

Soon after, he left with his friend Ned Preble, and together they set up their own firm.

On 11 September 2001, Rich was flying from Washington DC to Australia on business aboard American Airlines Flight 77. Terrorists took over and flew it into the Pentagon.

RIP.