The Mentawe blog
Practical thinking on office politics, meetings, and reading the room — without losing your integrity.
21 July 2026 · 5 min read
Five Minutes Between Meetings: The Case for Micro-Coaching
You won't block an hour for professional development today. But you will scroll something in the gap before your next call. The question is only whether what you scroll leaves you sharper.
Read more →19 July 2026 · 6 min read
Your Feed Only Shows You What You Already Like — And It's Shrinking Your Luck
Every algorithm you use narrows you: more of what you clicked, forever. But careers are made by collisions with the unfamiliar. Here's the case for a barbell feed — and why we built one.
Read more →22 June 2026 · 7 min read
Why the Most Effective Enterprises Give Every Leader a Read on Every Room
When an AI knows what your CFO is protecting, what your CPO fears, and what your Head of Sales is optimising for — and shares that across your leadership team — meetings stop being theatre. Here's why political intelligence at scale is the next frontier in organisational effectiveness.
Read more →21 June 2026 · 6 min read
“I Just Do Good Work” Is a Career Strategy — And It's Quietly Failing You
Plenty of talented people refuse to 'play politics' and wonder why they keep getting passed over. The problem isn't your ethics. It's a misunderstanding of what politics actually is.
Read more →19 June 2026 · 6 min read
Why Your Best Ideas Keep Dying in Meetings — And How to Stop It
A good idea, well-argued, killed in the room anyway. It's rarely about the idea. Here's the hidden machinery that decides which proposals live and die at work — and the one move that changes the odds.
Read more →15 June 2026 · 6 min read
How to Read the Room at Work: A Practical Guide to Office Politics
Office politics isn't dirty — it's just misaligned incentives, fear, and unwritten rules. Here's a practical framework for reading the room at work and making your next move with confidence.
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