Joining the Dots
Thought-provoking ideas from Science, Philosophy, Spirituality, and Management.
Ideas to make you think
This site contains blog posts on topics that interest me, copies of papers and articles from my project management research, and Bible studies and sermons from my latter days as a lay preacher in the United Reformed Church. There are also links to hundreds of books on philosophy, science, theology and management that have influenced my thinking.
Throughout my life, I have been aware of the differences between three different areas of activity: “Everyday life” as a husband, father, grandfather, or friend; “Management” as an entrepreneur, project manager, manager and director; and “Spirituality”, as a theology student, churchgoer, lay preacher, or progressive Christian.
On this site, these different areas are called ‘perspectives’.
Because the areas are so inter-linked, I have cross-referenced each item on the site. Not only to others from the same perspective but also to other items on the same subject and items dealing with the same topical issues. Link to ‘How this site works’.
I hope you will find something here that ‘makes you think’.
Enjoy.
Terry Cooke-Davies
Folkestone, March 2022
Terry is proud to be a member of the Rotary Club of Folkestone.
A Broad Range of Materials
Cross referenced by Perspective, by Issue of Interest, and by Academic Subject,.
Three Perspectives
Spirituality
Many people, especially in the Western world, are struggling to relate what they have traditionally learned about their Christian faith in church to the reality of the world we all live in. Yet advances in knowledge about what it means to be human in an expanding universe open the door to vast new possibilities.
In this theme you will find articles concerned with current issues facing people who want to understand the relevance of Jesus and the Bible for life in the twenty-first century. Many of the articles are suitable for small group discussion. It also contains links to books summarizing contemporary and fundamental research that illuminates the theme.
Life Today
It is hard to keep up with the amazing discoveries that are being made every day, that influence our experience of life. Homo Sapiens has been hugely successful as a species. We may have evolved from other animals, but with the development of self-aware consciousness, we’ve transcended the limits of purely biological evolution. Through our unique abilities we’ve created the Anthropocene epoch on earth, full of amazing technological and artistic achievements. But in the process, we’ve brought about a crisis that threatens the planet with serious damage and our own species with extinction.
In this theme you will find articles and posts about issues that are relevant to everyone who thinks about what it means to be human. It also contains links to books summarizing contemporary and fundamental research that illuminates the theme.
Management
Managing is the art and craft of getting things done through people. Whether you are managing an organization, a programme or a project you will constantly encounter situations that you have never encountered before. And there is a wealth of wisdom available both from formal research, and from anecdotes and stories from successful managers and leaders. Good management achieves amazing results, and leaves people feeling proud of those achievements. Bad management robs people of energy, satisfaction, productivity and, in some cases, their jobs. It has a high social and economic costs.
In this theme you will find articles concerned mainly with matters of ‘process’ and ‘facilitative management’. Especially inter-personal process and the means of harnessing people’s energy and resources in the service of the right tasks. The emphasis is on management as much as a process of learning together as much as seeking to control actions and events. It also contains links to books summarizing contemporary and fundamental research that illuminates the theme. My research interest in implementing corporate strategy through portfolios of programmes and projects arose from this focus on process.
How This Site Works
Every item on the site is cross-referenced in three ways: perspectives, subject categories, and issues of interest. Simply click on a word in the grey bar which sits at the bottom of every page, and you will see all other items on the website that are cross-referenced to it. Try it out in the bar below.
- “Perspectives” are described above. They are the represent viewpoints from which life can be examined. The three represented on this site are the ones through which I have examined my life.
- “Subject categories” are an academic classification of knowledge by subject area, as accepted for the division of faculties and departments in Universities.
- “Issues of Interest” are problematical topics of concern to groups of people that are of interest from one or more perspectives and on which research in one or more subjects sheds light
Different kinds of items are accessible on this website:
- Reference Books and papers, which provide background to an issue or are cited in specific posts. An example is “Aping Mankind“. Where the books are available on Kindle, the “Read More” button links to its published Goodreads extract.
- Blog posts on “Issues of Interest” are short articles written for this web site that are designed to make the reader think. An example is “Projects: exercises in shared intentionality“.
- Bible studies are courses of study written for small groups on topics of interest to Christians who seek to relate the tenets of their faith to advances in knowledge in the world today. An example is the series of studies about the Book of Revelation.
- Research Papers and other publications are materials that I have written and published elsewhere in journals, books, magazines, or conference proceedings. An example is “The Real Success Factors on Projects“.
- Sermons consist of the text of sermons that I preached, or notes from which I preached my sermons. An example is “God of the Poor“.
