What they forgot to mention

When purpose-free beats purpose-driven

The ancient Greeks invented the symposium — literally 'drinking together' — where philosophers, poets, and politicians gathered for wine, conversation, and the collision of ideas.

Eighteen centuries later, European salons borrowed this template: gathering people under the roof of an inspiring host, partly for amusement, but more to increase knowledge and connections through conversation. By the 1920s, salons of people like Gertrude Stein attracted Picasso, Hemingway, Matisse and James Joyce — her salon was literally the first 'museum of modern art'.

One of my clients, a philanthropy executive, was lamenting how everything these days needs a "purpose" or "outcome." Professional networking feels transactional, social media is performative, and even casual drinks come with agendas. So she started hosting salons: no speakers, no themes, no LinkedIn follow-ups required. Just interesting people in her living room with good wine and zero agenda.

The salon I attended drew people from urban planning, poetry, venture capital, and emergency medicine. The magic? When you remove the pressure to be "productive," actual creativity and genuine connection emerge. In our hyper-purposeful world, maybe the most radical thing is gathering for no reason at all.

My question: What would happen if you hosted something with absolutely no agenda?

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Changing the rules of the game

I was recently working with a community services CEO who was frustrated that when they ‘engaged the community’ all they got were the ‘same grumpy voices’.

Sound familiar?

She’s a lateral thinker, so I referred her to Russell Ackoff's 1970s classic, The Art of Problem Solving. This academic-consultant had a knack for flipping assumptions. My favourite: How do you keep fish fresh on trawlers without freezing? His surprising answer: add a shark to their tank. Sure, you lose some fish, but the survivors stay active and fresh.

Ackoff's genius was questioning the base assumptions: “What if keeping fish fresh is not the same as keeping them all alive?” Of course he was channelling Socrates, who famously developed techniques of questioning everyone's basic assumptions until they realised they knew far less than they thought.

That CEO? She stopped asking "How do we get more people to community consultation meetings?" and started asking "Where are people already gathering to talk about community issues?" Suddenly, they were joining book clubs, sports clubs, and school Council conversations. The assumption that engagement meant formal consultation — hosted by themselves — was the thing holding them back.

My question: What assumption is preventing you from solving a problem that’s been bugging you for months?

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The skills nobody teaches you

An ambitious and much younger manager once asked me, “Andrew, what are the critical skills that all senior executives need — but some don’t ever learn?” His agenda was transparent: he wanted to be indispensable as a leader, at the earliest age possible.

Now, I meet with hundreds of executives every year and welcomed his question. Here are my top 3.

1. Sales skills

Very few people in for-purpose sectors (including government) think of themselves as sales people. Yet they’re nearly always selling something: public policy, partnerships, buy-in on investable initiatives, and services and products. Yet, very few I meet have cut their teeth on these three sales skills: articulating benefits (aka value), targeting customers, and cultivating prospects. Those that do develop these essential skills put them to great use in ‘selling’ new ideas, innovations, and change. 

2. Presenting skills

Some of the best executives I know possess a strong presence whether they’re with three people, 30 or 300. Yet, I’d rate less than one-third of my clients as excellent public speakers, who can tell stories, thematise a message, and use voice, pacing and tonality to draw people in. This applies whether we're doing it in person, or digitally. 

3. Rapport building

When I watch my executive clients engaging with partners, funders, clients, or staff, I often notice lapses of attention, clumsy body language, poor listening and reflecting. These are utterly basic skill gaps that, once a person hits the C-Suite are very hard for others to bring to their attention. Those that are superb rapport-builders? They bring people on-side as if by magic.

Question: What critical skills are executives around you missing? If asked, how would others rate your ability on these three?

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Click the heart if you've been winging it on any of these skills. And tell me in the comments — what other crucial ability did I miss from the "never formally taught but absolutely essential" list?

I’m still on a boat in the Ionian Sea, but back on land next week,

Andrew