Notes in the margin¶

A vast library climbing out of sight in galleries, spiral stairs and railed walkways, its shelves receding into a bright haze far beyond the size of any building. An orangutan sits cross-legged on a cluttered writing desk, holding a book open with one hand and a quill in the other, one eye shut in concentration. An elderly wizard reads on at the right without looking up. Books drift through the air with their pages open, and every surface is crowded with candles, specimen jars, a caged owl, coiled wire and stacked volumes. Nobody is teaching anybody.

The point of collecting these foundational notes in one place is not to arrive at a single correct reading of an organisation. It is to keep several ways of looking within reach, and to trust, when they disagree, the one that reaches the part that stays strange and where life is found.

Limits and uses of these foundations
Chasing the hinge
Problem-solving leadership in security
Change in security organisations
Security system effectiveness
Organisational development for security
Learning at one’s own pace, in one’s own direction

Find what's blocking it

Last updated: 1 July 2026