Humansolutions Bulletin - December 14th 2017

As human beings we have so much in common, but we should not let that distract us from the fact that we are also very different from one another in various ways. One of those ways in which people differ is in terms of how best we learn. What works well for you may not work for me, while what works for me may likewise not work for you. This is partly because there are different types of intelligence – practical intelligence, mathematical intelligence, artistic intelligence and so on. Someone who is very capable in one type of activity may struggle in another type of activity because of the different types of intelligence involved... Click here to read more  …

"NO ONE ever told me that grief felt so like fear," C S Lewis once wrote, and he was right. Stepping into the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) ward, I tried to remain calm. But what was waiting behind those tinted-glass panels, I wasn't prepared for. Lying lifelessly on a bed with tubes attached to her body was my beloved aunt, unconscious and quite possibly, brain dead. Having to pace the hallways of a hospital is something I wouldn't wish on anyone. But grief comes to us all, in one way or another... Click here to read more

India is in the midst of a toilet-building frenzy, the government has set aside $20bn (£15bn) for the health initiative and aims to stop people having to defecate in the open by 2019. One social enterprise in one of India's poorest areas is taking on the challenge of building public toilets.It is using the waste from the toilets to help pay for their upkeep. More than half a billion people in rural India do not use toilets. It's a situation which leads to a host of health and social problems, including children not going to school and women being assaulted or fearing assault when they go to secluded areas to relieve themselves... Click here to read more

The word conflict carries a lot of negative baggage, and most people seek to avoid it. However, as any businessperson will tell you, conflict will eventually happen. Conflict is a natural and necessary part of doing business, so managers who seek to eliminate all forms of conflict in their workplace are not doing themselves, their employees, or their businesses any favors. Just because no one mentions any conflict to their manager does not mean that none exist, or that these unacknowledged conflicts have no negative impacts. Properly handled, functional conflict challenges the status quo and spurs the company forward to improvement. Dysfunctional conflict is a drag on the company and a waste of time and other valuable resources. A manager…

If you need an appendectomy, it's unlikely you'll die during the operation. That's because the surgeon has been trained in hundreds of years of best practices. From Semmelweis to the latest in antibiotics, she knows what's come before. Not only that, but the scalpel she uses is the result of 1,000 iterations over the centuries. Every device has been sanitized based on trial and error from the millions of patients who came before you. Surgery is an engineering project, and it's based on best practices. Learn from the past, don't ignore it ... Click here to read more