The Power of Changing Your Mind: Embrace the Boulder and the Flit
Written by Katy Tuncer
Are you a flitter?
Are you constantly on the go, lurching at new ideas, invested in everyone else’s plans?
Do you know someone who constantly embraces innovation and the latest new ideas?
They’ve got original perspectives on policies, customers, markets, competitors. Each time you meet they’re full of new fads. They get some new piece of insight and they fly off…littering their path with ten-minute-old ideas.
If only flitters stuck to their path once in a while they could be unstoppable.
Any flitters here, you are very welcome.
OR are you a boulder?
Utterly, unwaveringly sure in your conviction. Your ambition has been set since you were seven years old. And it’s BIG.
Perhaps you know a boulder - they are educated, informed, experts in a LOT of things!
Bring an opinion - or a fact - that contravenes their view of the world, and you’re in for it.
Isn’t it astonishing how often any topic of conversation gets back to their (perfectly formed) view of the world? They say: “Flitters make u-turns. Never change your mind!”
If only boulders did change their mind sometimes, they might reach more robust and relevant solutions and win extraordinary followership in doing so.
Any boulders here, you are also very welcome.
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We have the flitter, and we have the boulder.
And we have our friend, Peter Cowley.
Neither, and both.
Peter held a motto for a few years:
“Strong Opinions, Weakly Held”.
This relates to the value he held: Always have the best-informed understanding of the situation and available options.
Peter was an Angel Investor, Entrepreneur, unapologetic intellectual.
I, Katy, was his coach.
He was obsessed with having the biggest possible positive impact on the world.
He was neither the flitter nor the boulder, possessing a powerful balance of conviction AND open-mindedness
I believe this way of being is THE BEST way of being, to achieve results in innovation business, public service, and in fact all walks of life.
I was Peter’s business coach for 12 years. Together Peter and I spent more than 200 hours defining what he stood for - figuring out his value and focusing his efforts and energy accordingly.
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He turned up to coaching one sunny afternoon, rageful and hurt.
Someone he co-invested with, Peter was sure, was purposely trying to sabotage him.
Discussing the evening’s pitches, this offender kept having a pop at Peter.
“Peter seems to be mixing up two different businesses…”
“Peter, your expertise isn’t in this area”.
Rant, rant, rant.
With a lot of coaches, this is the moment I stay quiet until they’re done, then I validate their feelings and their default analysis of the situation. Then move to challenge.
With Peter, over the years, it became easier and easier for me to go straight in with the new perspective and challenge.
Me: “You said you’re hugely annoyed, right? And, you said, you think he is trying to irritate you? Maybe he is, I don’t know.”
P: “Yes, that’s it.“
Me: “Put yourself in his shoes, what do you think he is trying to achieve?”
P: “Trying to look clever.”
Me: “Yes, don’t you all do that in those pitch meetings? What does he really care about, what’s his real goal?”
P: “Make good investments?”
K: “Probably. Same as you.”
P: “Right, OK, I can handle that.”
As easy as that! Peter unlocks his strong opinions, things can start to move.
Needless to say, this person and Peter went on to build a respectful and enriching professional relationship.
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These “Mindset Pivots” became a signature part of Peter’s journey of growth.
One of his proudest achievements was the transformation of the Cambridge Angels back in 2018.
As Chair, Peter had some strong “hypotheses” (as he called them) on what the group needed to do to become even better. He wanted to modernise, in the face of a changing landscape for angel investing.
We set about gathering insight. And we got some tough messages back from the market about some of the Angels.
Did it phase Peter? Not one bit. “No dogma, only data. Let’s get to work!”
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He used data to evolve and refine his views. Peter iterated with fellow Angels. He created a vision for the future.
There were 11 projects generated to achieve this goal of a new vision. My favourite was about pitch behaviours.
The angels wanted to promise ego-free considerate interactions with entrepreneurs in pitches.
I especially loved the moment Peter rallied one of the Angels with a self-confessed giant ego to put his hand up to take the lead on that project. Such was Peter’s conviction and credibility in the solutions required.
And Peter’s legacy is huge as we see the Cambridge Angels still pioneering and setting the standard today, for early stage investing and ecosystem contribution.
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However, in my view, Peter’s most outstanding application of “strong opinions loosely held” came when he began his cancer journey.
Diagnosed with terminal cancer, he created a treatment plan with the clear mission of "maximising his health span”.
He made decisions based on data. He changed his mind often, but never based on a whim or feelings, it was data and analysis to get the best possible outcomes.
He lived his full life. I am inspired.
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Time and again, we saw how Peter stayed true to his deep beliefs and ambitions, whilst also being open to new info.
Sometimes he shifted his view on people or a business opportunity - reevaluating a market opportunity or a start-up’s potential
Sometimes he stuck with his view deliberately when he thought others had the wool pulled over their eyes.
But always, with thought and conscious consideration of the new information he was seeing.
No wonder Peter had willing followership and catalytic impact as a leader.
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So what?
All of us can do this.
We could all balance conviction AND open-mindedness in our own lives.
There is power in changing your mind - The power is in doing it deliberately.
So in conclusion, we can all get a bit of the Peter Cowley magic by embracing BOTH our inner flitter and inner boulder.
If you’re someone who relates with the flitter persona…
Bang the table when you’re sure. Have conviction, mobilise and motivate aligned and coherent action.
If you’re someone more drawn to the boulder way of being…
Try choosing deliberately when it’s time to take a new tack.
We can all be a bit more Peter when we embrace “Strong Opinions, Loosely Held”.
Thank you, Peter, your inspiration lives on.
Katy’s full talk can be viewed here
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At Horizon37, we’re proud to work alongside many extraordinary Angel investors - people who back bold ideas not just with capital, but with courage, compassion and belief in human potential.
Our mission is to maximise their positive impact in the world by supporting the leaders they invest in to grow, adapt and thrive. Because when visionary investors and purposeful leadership come together, the ripple effect can be extraordinary. You can learn more about our impact here.
Katy Tuncer
Katy is an entrepreneur and leadership coach, who has had a distinguished career having held a vast array of senior leadership roles (in tech start-ups, McKinsey, the British Army and the Met Police). Katy is currently the Director of Coaching at Horizon37 Ltd, where she designs and delivers leadership coaching programmes. She has been listed as one of the BBC 100 Women and has won a Prime Minister's 2016 Point of Light award for her community volunteering.