https://mhsutton.me/blog Latest articles from mhsutton.me en Tue, 21 Apr 2026 11:43:33 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/ai-labor-crisis-wake-up-call https://mhsutton.me/blog/ai-labor-crisis-wake-up-call AI is here, and it's coming for your job sooner than you think. Stop sleepwalking through the biggest labor crisis humanity has ever faced and prepare for the inevitable economic upheaval. Tue, 17 Mar 2026 08:48:38 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/needles-noise-and-signals https://mhsutton.me/blog/needles-noise-and-signals When I was a kid, my Mum always said 'learn to cook, people always need to eat'. This is wisdom. What is also wisdom is that, just as people need to eat, they also like to have sex. So that is a... Fri, 24 Jan 2025 11:25:17 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/the-leviathan-and-the-whale-how-blocs-are-our-last-best-and-probably-failing-hope-against-corporate-overlords https://mhsutton.me/blog/the-leviathan-and-the-whale-how-blocs-are-our-last-best-and-probably-failing-hope-against-corporate-overlords Forget the squabbling nations; the real power play is between the 'blocs' – those lumbering political cliques – and the 'whales' – the mega-corporations that treat us like digital plankton. We’re being squeezed, folks. Either you’re in a gang (a bloc), or you're lunch (for a whale). The problem? Blocs are bureaucratic dinosaurs, and whales are fast, ruthless, and largely unaccountable. So, yeah, good luck with that whole freedom thing. Sat, 18 Jan 2025 21:20:02 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/im-going-for-another-walk https://mhsutton.me/blog/im-going-for-another-walk As you might know - I like to walk. So on the 10th of September I’ll be heading to Santander in beautiful Cantabria, Spain to complete the walk I started in June 2016.  The Camino Del Norte st... Fri, 02 Sep 2022 05:52:26 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/on-suicide https://mhsutton.me/blog/on-suicide Might helping people who consider suicide, to feel less trapped and more in control, be helpful to managing suicidal thoughts? Mon, 02 May 2022 10:22:53 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/say-your-wishes-out-loud https://mhsutton.me/blog/say-your-wishes-out-loud In Spain, we call New Year's Eve night - 'noche vieja', and as the night ebbs away, leaving seconds left of the year that was - you are meant to 'quickly' eat a grape for every second of the last 12 s... Fri, 01 Jan 2021 22:17:45 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/there-is-no-we-the-people https://mhsutton.me/blog/there-is-no-we-the-people There is a time between waking and rising. I find that time to be particularly full of insights and reflections. Today - I have been pondering this 'we, the people' concept that is often used to ju... Sun, 17 May 2020 10:09:29 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/mikes-theory-of-arcs-and-angles https://mhsutton.me/blog/mikes-theory-of-arcs-and-angles One goal, which path would you take? Imagine you had a goal - perhaps to lose weight or to learn a skill, or even to build some capacity/capability as a person, team, company or country. Lets c... Sun, 03 May 2020 11:00:00 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/i-have-people https://mhsutton.me/blog/i-have-people I have people who instantly make me smile. Others who, as the interactions proceed, get me really irritated. I have people who help me slow down and think deeply, questioning with respect and le... Thu, 13 Sep 2018 00:59:17 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/im-loving-pomodoneapp https://mhsutton.me/blog/im-loving-pomodoneapp I'm terrible at focusing and single-flow discipline, so I tend to practice the Pomodoro technique - which is about enforced habit of working for short, concentrated bursts, taking a short breaks and l... Sat, 11 Aug 2018 23:44:45 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/i-want-to-help-one-billion-people-prioritise-their-happiness https://mhsutton.me/blog/i-want-to-help-one-billion-people-prioritise-their-happiness A very bizarre set of events led me to discover Mo Gawdat and his movement onebillionhappy. This highly inspiring man who could, by all accounts, be sitting in his wealth, isolated from everything t... Fri, 01 Jun 2018 19:15:46 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/bullies-and-bluebells https://mhsutton.me/blog/bullies-and-bluebells I was recently in a dialogue with a client and the conversation turned to "Evil Scrum" and some previous negative experiences that some people had experienced. They imposed velocity targets and demand... Fri, 04 May 2018 13:40:50 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/lessons-from-a-linkybrains-event-no-one-else-came-to https://mhsutton.me/blog/lessons-from-a-linkybrains-event-no-one-else-came-to The LinkyBrains movement is purely accidental. It has gained and is gaining momentum primarily through small groups of people meeting to have coffee, some lunch or just a walk. What brings them togeth... Wed, 18 Apr 2018 10:49:03 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/three-thoughts-on-april-14 https://mhsutton.me/blog/three-thoughts-on-april-14 I probably could have had a better, more clicky title. Can the crowd save the world? My wife and I had a BBQ today. It started out as my idea and it worked beautifully, the end, it was 'our' BBQ - eve... Sat, 14 Apr 2018 23:43:50 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/10-days-into-linkybrains-and-this-is-what-its-about-for-me https://mhsutton.me/blog/10-days-into-linkybrains-and-this-is-what-its-about-for-me 10 mad days It has been the maddest 10 days of my life and I've had plenty mad. Time to reflect on this LinkyBrain thing - taking in all the feedback  that's rolling in from chats, blog posts and spo... Thu, 29 Mar 2018 10:36:02 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/i-have-a-confession-im-a-linkybrain https://mhsutton.me/blog/i-have-a-confession-im-a-linkybrain The world became much less lonely for me two weeks ago. I was quietly minding my own business, doing what I always do - dream and deliver. Then I read something that connected with feelings I had buri... Sun, 25 Mar 2018 16:14:46 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/no-one-unstoppable-forever https://mhsutton.me/blog/no-one-unstoppable-forever Looking at the current landscape of tech giants, from Facebook to Google, from Stripe to Intel, it is almost impossible to imagine they can ever be out-spent or out-competed.- Whilst they might seem ... Sun, 11 Mar 2018 23:08:24 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/marchs-30-day-challenge-2-minutes-high-knees-3-minutes-push-ups https://mhsutton.me/blog/marchs-30-day-challenge-2-minutes-high-knees-3-minutes-push-ups 5 Minutes seems the right amount of time To get to a very nice sweat - with the right exercises of course. The 30 Day Plank Challenge was phenomenal! My back, legs and core feel so much more reliable... Tue, 06 Mar 2018 16:52:27 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/15-year-list-ideas-ready-made-company-selector https://mhsutton.me/blog/15-year-list-ideas-ready-made-company-selector For the last 15 years I've maintained a list of ideas to build - things that both excite me and improve the world. I've kept it pruned, adding new ideas, removing those that no longer seem viable and ... Sat, 03 Mar 2018 21:31:16 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/first-week-helpful-conversations https://mhsutton.me/blog/first-week-helpful-conversations Last week I started having Office Hours to have conversations with anyone who wanted  the benefit of my experience in startups, tech and a few other things from my 25+ years in the software space. Us... Mon, 19 Feb 2018 12:06:56 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/im-delighted-fitness-blender https://mhsutton.me/blog/im-delighted-fitness-blender In my previous life as an agile coach, I travelled a lot and stayed in hotels, airbnbs and other accommodation. Most didn't have gyms and, to be honest, I'm not really a gym person. Now anyone who kn... Fri, 16 Feb 2018 13:08:39 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/30-day-challenge-5-minutes-planks-everyday https://mhsutton.me/blog/30-day-challenge-5-minutes-planks-everyday Challenge Yourself! I decided at the end of January that it would be a good idea to force a habit of exercise and do something every day that is both hard and beneficial. So, the 30 day challenge was... Tue, 13 Feb 2018 10:11:04 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/i-dont-cheat https://mhsutton.me/blog/i-dont-cheat A tale of 2 exam papers Twenty seven years ago, in a small but important town in southern Nigeria,  two teenage boys - bored with revising for their GCSEs - succumbed to the temptation of 'guaranteein... Fri, 09 Feb 2018 16:39:16 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/offer-lets-helpful-conversation https://mhsutton.me/blog/offer-lets-helpful-conversation It seems that when I'm most busy is when I also seem to want to share and help others the most - so continuing in a long established tradition, I would like to offer some office hours to help anyone w... Thu, 08 Feb 2018 21:46:19 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/be-a-person-of-substance https://mhsutton.me/blog/be-a-person-of-substance I love to take my dog - Maya - for walks and she loves it when I throw for her and she fetches. A long throw really helps her open up the speed! As I took her for a walk this morning, I brought with ... Mon, 05 Feb 2018 14:42:32 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/yes-learning-is-hard-but-do-it-anyway https://mhsutton.me/blog/yes-learning-is-hard-but-do-it-anyway It seems popular, these days, for coaches and consultants to talk about 'continuous learning' or the 'learning organisation'. Learning is like sex - everyone nods knowingly when it is being talked ab... Fri, 19 Jan 2018 15:48:46 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/i-cant-write-about-colonialism-or-the-commonwealth https://mhsutton.me/blog/i-cant-write-about-colonialism-or-the-commonwealth I've been trying, without success, for the last month to write a blog post on the curse of colonialism and the abomination that is the Commonwealth. As I explore my thoughts and organise them into so... Fri, 12 Jan 2018 13:32:25 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/i-finally-get-trump https://mhsutton.me/blog/i-finally-get-trump From the moment Donald Trump threw his hat into the US presidential campaign back in June 2015 until his controversial win in November 2016, I've experienced a range of emotions from hilarity, incredu... Wed, 06 Dec 2017 23:38:07 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/negotiating-sex-is-rather-difficult https://mhsutton.me/blog/negotiating-sex-is-rather-difficult Even if you don't read this post, go watch this: http://www.bbc.com/news/av/stories-42171536/world-hacks-the-secret-ring-helping-women-protect-themselves-from-hiv There is so much in the western medi... Thu, 30 Nov 2017 22:21:13 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/day-1-rohingya-51days https://mhsutton.me/blog/day-1-rohingya-51days Today as part of my #51days act of solidarity, I shall change my twitter profile to 'I am Rohingya" The Rohingya are an ethnic group that live in Myanmar - formerly Burma - they are mostly Muslims i... Sun, 06 Nov 2016 12:21:11 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/51-days-solidarity-advocacy https://mhsutton.me/blog/51-days-solidarity-advocacy There are 51 days until Christmas 2016. For each of those days,I will change my name on Twitter to reflect a cause I want to support and bring some attention in a small way. Why? There is so much wro... Sun, 06 Nov 2016 11:55:32 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/care-agile-manifesto-need https://mhsutton.me/blog/care-agile-manifesto-need As I sat with a professional services team at my client, launching into my tried and tested description of what agility means and how to do it sustainably, the last 11 years of my life flashed in fron... Mon, 03 Oct 2016 08:29:48 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/im-tired https://mhsutton.me/blog/im-tired I'm tired, very very tired of trying to build startups. So very tired of starting from scratch with every idea. Of the hustling and the hacking.  I'm tired of hearing people saying 'No' and the 'Oh ... Thu, 22 Sep 2016 20:45:32 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/im-delighted-shade-station https://mhsutton.me/blog/im-delighted-shade-station What: Prescription glasses, Prescription Sunglasses online When: 28th June 2016 Address/Website: http://shadestation.co.uk 5 things that delighted me: Huge choice of prescription specs - I wanted w... Wed, 06 Jul 2016 12:53:37 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/camino-over-for-now-walked-255-km-mecfs https://mhsutton.me/blog/camino-over-for-now-walked-255-km-mecfs In January 2016, I committed to take my dog - Maya - on a really long walk and I committed to use the walk to raise money and awareness for more investment into the medical conditions: Myalgic Encepha... Fri, 03 Jun 2016 20:01:12 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/day-7-dedication https://mhsutton.me/blog/day-7-dedication Today is my last day of the Camino long walk. For Julia and Mandie Chapman. "I never understood M.E. until I had it. It's like being sick in reverse.. the usual things to do to feel better don't... Tue, 17 May 2016 15:09:50 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/day-6-dedication-2 https://mhsutton.me/blog/day-6-dedication-2 "The frustration of not being able to scratch an itch, or turn over in bed as your body felt like it was made of lead, was gut wrenching." Here is Jennifer's story of how she manages a family with... Mon, 16 May 2016 05:03:53 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/day-5-dedication https://mhsutton.me/blog/day-5-dedication Dealing with ME/CFS/Fibromyalgia is not just your personal suffering and your loved ones'- but also the attitude of society: not taking you seriously as a disabled person. Jenna, Happy Birthday. I'm... Sun, 15 May 2016 14:27:17 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/day-4-dedication https://mhsutton.me/blog/day-4-dedication Ben Howell shares with us his story today about how he went from a very active person building a career in the fitness industry to not being able to exercise or leave the house. "Non-functional, li... Sat, 14 May 2016 11:48:23 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/camino-3-maria-solano https://mhsutton.me/blog/camino-3-maria-solano "Each day is a day working towards recovery and finding the strength I never knew I could have." - Maria When were you first diagnosed with ME/CFS/Fibromyalgia? 1998 What was your life like ... Fri, 13 May 2016 17:08:12 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/camino-2-brianna-sutton https://mhsutton.me/blog/camino-2-brianna-sutton "If I decide I want to go out because I'm having a great day, I have to plan the next day around the fact that I know that it won't be a good day."  Today's story is from Brianna, my daughter. When ... Wed, 11 May 2016 11:31:09 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/camino-day-1-joel https://mhsutton.me/blog/camino-day-1-joel Joel Langton is my best friend and he's the first person I'd like to dedicate my walk to. This is his story: When were you first diagnosed with ME/CFS/Fibromyalgia? 2009 What was your life ... Sat, 07 May 2016 18:22:43 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/donate-coachtrainmentor-team-1-day https://mhsutton.me/blog/donate-coachtrainmentor-team-1-day A gift for your company or team. If your company/team needs a spark to improve it's delivery capabilites, perspectives, focus, vision, value system and (no tomatoes please) culture. Then I have a gift... Wed, 04 May 2016 21:24:01 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/mikeslongwalk-join-walk-home https://mhsutton.me/blog/mikeslongwalk-join-walk-home This Saturday - May 7th, my Long Walk on the Camino de Santiago will begin. As some of you know, I am doing this to raise awareness and funds for ME/CFS research (donate here if you haven't: https://w... Tue, 03 May 2016 19:44:21 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/planning-a-camino-for-a-busy-guy-and-his-31kg-dog https://mhsutton.me/blog/planning-a-camino-for-a-busy-guy-and-his-31kg-dog This post was written by Maria J Bellido. Maria is an awesome Virtual Assistant who helped Mike plan his Camino. She is super organised and a great executioner of plans and a fountain of creative solu... Tue, 03 May 2016 04:00:50 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/update-2-sort-final-route-bits https://mhsutton.me/blog/update-2-sort-final-route-bits I'm going for a 255km walk to raise funds and awareness for M.E/CFS and to, well, just walk. Read more about why I'm walking. My Final Route After much research and trying to navigate the various logi... Tue, 26 Apr 2016 19:50:01 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/on-open-letter-to-berlin https://mhsutton.me/blog/on-open-letter-to-berlin Dear Berlin, I wish I could say it was lovely seeing you on my last visit, but sadly not - and therein lies the reason for this letter. We've had a mostly cordial relationship these last 5 years tha... Sat, 26 Mar 2016 09:32:25 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/mikeslongwalk-update-1 https://mhsutton.me/blog/mikeslongwalk-update-1 The Latest News It seems like ages since I committed to walking the Camino and raising money for ME/CFS activism and awareness. Quite a lot has happened over the last month. Here's the latest news: W... Sat, 19 Mar 2016 09:24:49 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/the-scrum-steam https://mhsutton.me/blog/the-scrum-steam This exchange happened on WhatsApp between my buddy and I. Enjoy. On a cold day, the heat coming off a rugby scrum can be such that it creates a visual effect known as "scrum steam" http://9gag.com... Mon, 22 Feb 2016 10:43:52 GMT https://mhsutton.me/blog/50-bucks https://mhsutton.me/blog/50-bucks I’ve met some of the most interesting personalities on planes. Or at airports. There is something about the transience of travel that seems to bring out a form of casual honesty. One such encounter ... Sat, 20 Feb 2016 16:49:02 GMT