Twelfth night is already upon us and the decorations now sit in a large heap; funny how bare it makes the house seem for a couple of days. They may be brash and sparkly but there is something delightful in their capacity to transform, I love the magic they weave and the memories they often carry.

Every year I have great intentions for how the house will be decorated, something just so, visually appealing and tasteful. And every year reality intervenes and compromises are made. It is one of the four tensions talked about by Otnes et al (2009) in their fascinating chapter on ‘Tinsel, Trimmings and Tensions.’

Where this used to fuel my anxiety I now accept it as part of what happens, something I try to acknowledge in my consultancy work too. I find it interesting that in my more creative work I am very open to the fact that where I end up is seldom where I think it will be, actually I usually regard this as a good thing. This may in part be the case because others are more accepting of it there too, being creative seems to give a certain licence to have change built into the process.