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29/08/2024 By David Rigby

Generational Diversity and Humour

Generational Diversity and Humour

Rewriting your historical culture in case it is offensive.

I am firmly in the Boomer generation and grew up in the sixties where fewer and fewer topics were taboo. People’s education improved when they were exposed to better information, especially to do with sex and class. In 1962 the Judge in the Lady Chatterley trial inferred that it was OK for educated men to read this book but not for women or servants.
Men got to know that women can be just as rude as men and didn’t need protecting, just wanted to be treated as equals. “not in front of the ladies”

The 1960s

British humour in public, film and TV became much more liberal and the British specialisation of Double Entendre (no British equivalent – nearest is Double Meaning) came to the fore. In the 60s films within the ‘Carry-On’ comedy series and TV programmes such as ‘Are you being served’ (1972-1985) were experts at exploiting this. Radio such as ‘Round the Horne/Beyond our Ken’ (1958-1968), broadcast Sunday lunchtimes, used implicitly gay characters even though being gay was illegal. The rudeness was never explicit though. Men dressed as women and vice versa was common even on the radio.
There were other TV programmes which were racially offensive and others which helped the ‘native’ British get familiar with people whose backgrounds were different. The legendary visionary ‘’Till death us do part’ held up the racists to ridicule for those who dared to watch.

The older generations in the 1960s

But how accepting of this liberty were the older generations of that time?  Again in the 1960s “Up Pompeii “, full women’s stereotypes and inuendo. was a very successful vehicle for 1940s comedian Frankie Howerd. My mother insisted that I watched it at a neighbour’s house in case my grandmother, who lived with us, got offended.  Perhaps my mother was afraid my grandmother would enjoy it too much. After all there were all the double entendre songs sung in the music halls of the 1910s-1930s and before.



Beyond our Ken & Round The Horne BBBC Radio 1958-1968
Are you being served BBC TV 1972-1985
The Thick of It BBC TV 2005-2012
Little Britain BBC Radio 2000 BBC TV 2003-2006


Swearing on TV

During a discussion on censorship, The critic Kenneth Tynan became the first person to say “ f**k” on British television in 1965. After that there was always discussions about how many f**ks you could have in a radio or TV broadcast. British political comedy “The thick of it”(2005-2012) wins my prize as to just how many times it’s possible to say f**k in a programme in order to be authentic.

Changes in the new century

Then things began to change. Things which were deemed funny in the 1960s became offensive in the 2000s and it is increasing .
Does this mean that the GenZ, Millennials who are now controlling the game are failing to see the fun?

Fear of offending

For example Little Britain (2003-2006) – the TV series which pointed the mirror at British society has been taken off the air. A theatre has banned a stage version of a BBC sitcom ‘are you being served’ partly based on the writers’ experiences of a former department store in Paignton after it was considered ‘demeaning to women and outdated’ (but only in Torquay). Apparently irrelevant that had been successful in many other (less) provincial towns.

Returning to the Victorian Era?

Does this mean we are returning to
• The Victorians chopping off Penises on statue
• The genitals of Christ being painted over (very badly) in the Sistine Chapel
• Books being re-engineered and censored

Or are we being censored by the Zuckerberg’s and Musk’s to only publish that which is acceptable in certain parts of America?
The genres which you can make fun of are shrinking all the time, so the only answer is to make fun of all of them .

Personal Experience

Recently I posted an extremely witty but rude joke on Facebook which required knowledge about James Bond books. I got castigated because it apparently offended about Trans people. If it wasn’t very clever I wouldn’t have posted it. However, the point is, why should I specifically be aware of sensitivities of trans-people and not for other groups? My trans friends make better and ruder jokes than I do, and so do my black friends and my gay friends .

So I shall continue making jokes about all, and if the GenZs and Millennials don’t like it – then tough.


Note: This article is based upon British history as I was there. In other places it may have been different. David Rigby is an expert on Interculturality and Diversity including Generational Diversity and believes that your historical culture should not have to be re-written or removed to avoid offending different generations or nations.

Smart Coaching & Training works with 20 associates, in four continents speaking 12 languages and raised and working in a wide range of cultures. See our associates here.

We have changed and considerably expanded the web pages concerning Diversity. Take a look Take a look at our page on Generational Diversity

Written by David Rigby © 2024 Smart Coaching & Training Ltd

Filed Under: Cognitive Bias, Emotional Intelligence, leadership, New year's resolutions, Personal Development, Wellbeing Tagged With: Communication, DIEB, diversity, feeling, inclusion, Interculturality, intersectionality, intuitive, performing, profiling, safespace, Smart Coaching & Training

29/07/2024 By David Rigby

Are safe spaces retrograde steps from the promise of Diversity?

Are safe spaces retrograde steps from the promise of Diversity?

For many years women fought and won to belong to men-only clubs and societies .
For many years black people fought and won to belong to white only clubs and societies .
In the UK in the 90s white people went to the gospel churches because the singing was better .
And now they want female/black only spaces . Is that a retrograde step ?
Until recently I thought it was .

What is a safe space?

.A ‘safe space’ is a place that provides a physically and emotionally safe environment for a person or group of people, especially a place where people can freely express themselves without fear of prejudice, negative judgment, etc.: a safe space for single mothers to share their experiences.


It’s like going to a brainstorming meeting and the boss is there saying “don’t mind me “ but you suspect everything you say will be held against you , if you have a different view. So better the boss is not there.


Diversity is great providing you don’t disagree with the view put forward by the boss, whether the boss is old white straight male or young black lesbian .


Recently in London a play has been performed where for certain nights they wanted a black only (or is that a non-white) audience as typically the audience don’t want to behave as a typical middle class white audience might expect.


Mahmoud Assy on Intersectionality at LGBT+@Work Madrid. Mahmoud Assy is an STC Associate
Participants at LGBT+@Work conference IE university Madrid
Female only event upcoming in Valencia / Jessica Breitenfeld (second left) is an SCT Associate


In the USA many Universities have marketed courses aimed at black females only and have been challenged to by the courts

Challenging Women Only Groups

I have challenged many women’s groups to justify why they don’t want men there. And they complain about mansplaining, and about not being able to be themselves is men are present. Equally men have complained about not wanting women present for the same reasons- but that is not equality.


I recently went to a LGBT+@Work conference at IE University in Madrid. It was a joyous and professional event. There was a great variety of attendees and it was a safe space and everyone was comfortable enough to be themselves.

The same, of course, could be said about attending a Christian Mothers event – where if you want your biases confirmed then they will be.

Safe Spaces

So, I changed my mind, though to me the female only or black only events are probably more interesting than the white male macho events where most people still dare not be themselves for fear of not being white or macho enough.

Smart Coaching & Training works with 20 associates, in four continents speaking 12 languages and raised and working in a wide range of cultures. See our associates here.

We have changed and considerably expanded the web pages concerning Diversity. Take a look

Written by David Rigby © 2024 Smart Coaching & Training Ltd

Filed Under: Cognitive Bias, Emotional Intelligence, leadership, New year's resolutions, Personal Development, Wellbeing Tagged With: Communication, DIEB, diversity, feeling, inclusion, Interculturality, intersectionality, intuitive, performing, profiling, safespace, Smart Coaching & Training

24/08/2022 By David Rigby

Rubbing salt into the API wounds

Rubbing salt into the API wounds

Getting closer to the king

In the very old days , salt was very expensive and was used as a status symbol.  At a banquet, salt would be placed in a strategic place on the long narrow tables and at the head of the table would be a very important person such as the king. The closer to the king you were the more important you were and if you were below the salt – you really were nobody.

Enabling people to take responsibility

I have fought running battles with managers and executives, particularly in the Middle East, where every tiny decision needs the signature of the boss – and I thought progress was being made. Getting over the challenges where entire peoples (such as Filipinos in Middle East; most Indians, women, and Northerners and Working Class folk in the UK) were educated to just do what they were told, know their place, and challenge nothing and certainly not to network.

Progress is being made – if you are ‘above the API’ and not if you are ‘below the API’
Today, you’re either above the API (application programming interface)or below the API. You either tell robots what to do, or are told by robots what to do.

Below the salt: Learning English though Vaughan Systems at Belmonte Spain
Chess Pieces made by Alejandro Garabon in Altea Alicante It’s all black or white with API

Psychologically safe environments

These days you are encouraged to develop your own networks and initiatives, and in theory there is the modern day leader who delegates responsibility to his team in a psychologically safe environment and allows them to experiment , to make mistakes without getting fired and above all gives them the authority to enable them make the decisions, wherever ‘the buck stops’ and your manager supported you. But only if you are above the API . While the upper and middle classes will work though ‘who you know’ it is still positively frowned upon in the working classes who will ‘get there on their own merit without help from anyone’.

Above and below the API

An example of an API is Uber. The app sends a request that includes account data, pickup and dropoff  locations to drivers nearby and dispatches one to the customer to fulfil the request. The only two humans involved are the customer and the driver. The skills the drivers develop in driving are not an investment in their future. It’s a dead end job They have no opportunity to progress and no contact with management unless it all goes wrong.  So there is even less opportunity than with working in a contact centre where at least you may have contact with the management.   There is constant dispute with Uber and similar organisations such as Deliveroo as to whether the drivers are employed or casual It is no great surprise that the drivers are going on strike even in places where it is illegal such as Dubai.  Good for them.

It knows you know (tribute to Hilda Baker)

In effect the computer (API) knows when you breathe, how long it takes to pee, as well as counting how many journeys and dinners are delivered, issues you resolve and other times how many people you can get rid of. Does it give you career progression? No.  Does it allow you to develop your initiative and self-confidence? No.  That’s the world of networking, negotiation, staff retention and freedom which you can get from being above the API and above the salt.

Breeding Populism and Fascism?

People being put below the API and not allowed to challenge, is ideal scenario for breeding populism and fascism. ( and could be a contributing factor to Brexit. )

At Smart Coaching & Training we are really busy teaching those above the API , matching the client to appropriate associate based on needs including location and language.

Written by David Rigby © 2022 Smart Coaching & Training Ltd

Filed Under: Authoritarianism, Carol Dweck, Cognitive Bias, Communication, Emotional Intelligence, Mentoring, Mindset, Modernism, Mother, News, Personal Development, Wellbeing, Woke Tagged With: Authoritarianism, Brecht, Cognitive Bias, Dictator, Dweck, Emotional, Franco, Hitler, Mindsets, Modernism, Neurodiversity, Political correctness, profiling, Smart Coaching & Training, Snowflake, Totalitarianism

31/01/2022 By David Rigby

Woke up to Authoritarianism and Modernism

Woke up to Authoritarianism and Modernism

Open and Closed Mindsets

I wanted to write something with the work ‘Woke’ in the title, and not being sure whether Woke was a noun, adjective or verb, decided to start with the blues classic “Woke up this morning…”

What’s it to do with Carol Dweck ?

I woke up this morning wondering how Authoritarianism is connected with the work of Carol Dweck on open and closed mind sets.  Authoritarians want everything ‘my way or the high way’, and appear to be scared of trying something new in case they fail. So I guess they have a closed mindset. Equally, as we celebrate 100 years of Modernism, said to be founded in 1922, (the birth of Now? ) do we guess these folk, such as Bertolt Brecht, T.S Elliot and Louis Armstrong had open mindsets?

Hitler and Franco and ???

I understand that at least 40% of the world prefer to be governed by authoritarians of, presumably, the same closed mind set, not allowing others to be different. Classic authoritarians are the dictators such as Hitler, Stalin and Franco,  and there are many today who I won’t mention.  But they made sure that their fellow countrymen had the same views by ‘eliminating’ the opposition. The totalitarian state being enabled by initial indifference of the masses.

Listening to different people

Having worked in 22 countries, and lived a long time, I could still be of the opinion that ‘my way or the highway’ is still the right approach, broad as it is. However I have developed a team covering four continents, eight languages with diversity claims at least covering age, sex, sexuality, race, language, religion and education level, though we fail on neurodiversity. From this we are able to listen to each other and become stronger together than the individuals. I do not have an inclusion case for boring/not boring and entertaining/not entertaining and liking the wrong kind of music.

David Rigby with Ebrahim Hosani in Madinat Zayed, Al Dhafra, United Arab Emirates.
David Rigby with a retired singer in Ghana Africa
David Rigby with Radical Faeries, Glastonbury UK
David Rigby demonstrating career coaching at Abu Dhabi University

A collection of Cognitive Biases

We all have cognitive bias, recognise it, but at least we have different ones. There are many so set in their ways, insisting on the language of hygiene and political correctness, that they are no longer able to listen to discussions or anything which doesn’t affirm their beliefs. And personally I have often abandoned the challenge -after all what’s in it for either of us when dealing with closed mindsets. Especially if they cannot spell.

The same values as your mother?

When teaching coaching, I teach that one skill to have is to be able to coach people with different values than yours. I start with the questions ‘do you have the same values as your mother, when did you last change them’. And if the answer is ‘Yes, and Never’ then they wont make a good coach. And this then begs the question:

“If you have a learning and open mindset are you able to tolerate the views of others whether they be traditional religious zealots (of any variety) , privileged white supremacists, or of the politically correct snowflakes of the black/white/LGBT+/old/young/female lives matter brigade?” If so, you may have a future in coaching if you are not trampled on by the authoritarian majority from any one of those categories.

At Smart Coaching & Training we coach and mentor according to client’s need, matching the client to appropriate associate based on needs including location and language.

Written by David Rigby © 2022 Smart Coaching & Training Ltd

Filed Under: Authoritarianism, Carol Dweck, Cognitive Bias, Communication, Emotional Intelligence, Mentoring, Mindset, Modernism, Mother, News, Personal Development, Wellbeing, Woke Tagged With: Authoritarianism, Brecht, Cognitive Bias, Dictator, Dweck, Emotional, Franco, Hitler, Mindsets, Modernism, Neurodiversity, Political correctness, profiling, Smart Coaching & Training, Snowflake, Totalitarianism

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