Based at Dorset Innovation Park: •Wargaming and Exercises •Film Content Creation •Coffee •Medal Mounting www.evocatus.co.ukhttps://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3mvpmawybcj2jHollnagel's four potentials of resilience: respond, monitor, anticipate, learn. Only one can be practised directly. An exercise practises a response; the other three develop inside it. Which does your team practise least? #Resilience17 Sep 2026 12:02 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvpmawybcj2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3mvklcld3dj2vThe plan is current, the names are right, and nobody named has practised it since the first exercise. Nobody decided to let the capability go; it eroded, one postponement at a time. When did your team last rehearse? https://www.evocatus.co.uk/articles/contingency-planning-with-tabletop-exercises/15 Sep 2026 12:01 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvklcld3dj2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3mv5yy7na2j2eThank you to everyone who signed up this week. A small list, which is the point: defence, blue-light and resilience planners, wargamers both sides of the Atlantic, academics, consultancies, one gin distillery. Issue one next week: evocatus.co.uk/newsletter/ #Wargaming #BusinessContinuity https://evocatus.co.uk/newsletter/10 Sep 2026 12:01 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mv5yy7na2j2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3muyxzasdhp26We've decided to start publishing a newsletter, rather than trusting the algorithms to get our thinking in front of people who might be interested. Monthly to start. First issue mid-September, on horizon scanning. Sign up: evocatus.co.uk/newsletter/ #Wargaming #HorizonScanning https://evocatus.co.uk/newsletter/08 Sep 2026 12:01 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3muyxzasdhp26https://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3mumfokhwgn271 September 1939: Britain began moving its children out of the cities. Pied Piper had been planned since 1938, rehearsed through August, and in three days moved 1.5 million people. What failed was what had been assumed, not rehearsed. Which assumptions in your contingency plan have never been run?03 Sep 2026 12:01 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mumfokhwgn27https://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3muheqsibyy2oToday is the first day of meteorological autumn. Armies have always marked the turn of the seasons; some of the finest generals were unpicked by the winter. Worth borrowing: half an hour with your team, plans on the table. What has changed over the summer to push them over their expiry date?01 Sep 2026 12:01 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3muheqsibyy2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3mu2sfy7mdp2w"Why can't we just do this over Teams?" A fair question. But our exercises are deeply human: communication, compromise, collaboration and coordination under pressure. Kolb's cycle needs reflection, not just experience, and a lot of that happens over coffee.27 Aug 2026 12:01 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu2sfy7mdp2whttps://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3mtvrjen4vd23Last week we hosted the Bournemouth University Disaster Management Centre at our Dorset HQ, talking about gaming as a learning tool. Adults struggle to give themselves permission to roll dice. Get past that, and a map and some counters become a serious exercise. #Resilience #Dorset25 Aug 2026 12:01 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtvrjen4vd23https://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3mte677dahp25Boyd's OODA loop is usually read as an argument about speed. The more useful reading is orientation: most organisations lose not because they decide slowly, but because they cannot make sense of too much at once. https://www.evocatus.co.uk/articles/horizon-scanning/18 Aug 2026 12:00 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mte677dahp25https://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3msxlutyo4a2mFor the sixth year running, Evocatus is registered as a supplier on JOSCAR. As a Micro SME, answering questions written for corporate HQs in the context of our little organisation is a brilliant illustration of Work as Imagined against the range of Work as Done. #Wargaming13 Aug 2026 12:01 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3msxlutyo4a2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3msskwjlp4f2kStand-to is the least popular moment of a soldier's day. First and last light, everyone stands ready and looks outward. The raid is rarer now, but the routine endures. https://www.evocatus.co.uk/articles/horizon-scanning/ #HorizonScanning #StrategicForesight #ScenarioPlanning11 Aug 2026 12:00 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3msskwjlp4f2khttps://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3msfyniz6um27"I've made up my mind." At Arnhem in 1944, photos of German armour on the landing zones were explained away and the messenger sent home. Holmes's fifth disease of leadership: a mind closed by momentum. Exercises surface it while the cost is still rehearsal. #Leadership #Wargaming06 Aug 2026 12:01 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3msfyniz6um27https://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3msaxoimmbn22Four months of human plus machine at Evocatus: 1.63m words of working memory, a website brought in-house, and now a new pillar article. "Horizon Scanning: The Discipline of Keeping Watch". Please do give it a read. https://www.evocatus.co.uk/articles/horizon-scanning/04 Aug 2026 12:01 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3msaxoimmbn22https://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3mruffl7xbj2dThe Government has added new risks to the National Risk Register and told us to prepare for power cuts and extreme weather. A register names the risk; a plan only builds confidence once exercised. Which should your team warm up against? #BusinessContinuity #Resilience #ContingencyPlanning30 Jul 2026 12:02 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mruffl7xbj2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3mrpegu4qhl24There is always a gap between "Work-as-Imagined" and "Work-as-Done", and human psychology sits in it. Exercising turns the indifferent into advocates, then stress-tests the plan against reality. What plan do you wish you had wargamed first? #Wargaming #ExperientialLearning #ChangeManagement28 Jul 2026 12:01 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrpegu4qhl24https://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3mrcs536xat2dNew leaders mean new teams: forming, storming, norming before performing. Tuckman also saw two development tracks, interpersonal relationships and task activity. Scenario-based exercises build trust and shared mental models, moving a team along both. New team forming? Get in touch.23 Jul 2026 12:02 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrcs536xat2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3mr5r5jlhpo2iThe UK has a new PM. Whatever your politics, the incoming leader inherits titanic problems and genuine dilemmas from day one. What carries any organisation through a change at the top is rarely the person arriving, but the shared picture of where it is heading when the plan meets reality.21 Jul 2026 12:01 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr5r5jlhpo2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3mqqn5umcme2oIf a game as simple and abstract as Association Football can offer decision-making at speed, trust and composure under pressure, just imagine what a game designed specifically around the needs of your organisation can do. Get in touch to talk about where you'd like to start.16 Jul 2026 06:45 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqqn5umcme2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3mqm5xi73y526“A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.” Patton knew a decision has a shelf life. The 100% solution comes too late; the 70% call in good time wins. Wargames build the confidence to decide on an incomplete picture, where taking too long is just a lesson.14 Jul 2026 12:02 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqm5xi73y526https://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3mq7n6qqdlh27A quiet advantage of being based where the work clusters: this week the Defence BattleLab hosted the South West Regional Defence & Security Cluster's Summer Conference at Dorset Innovation Park. The weekly BattleLab Coffee is where it all connects. Where's the local network you draw strength from?09 Jul 2026 12:30 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mq7n6qqdlh27https://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3mq2knq5hoy2lHolmes's disease of leadership #7: equating the quality of advice with the rank of the person providing it. The people closest to the problem often have the most relevant insight, and the least chance of being heard. Exercises can build the habit of hearing them, before it matters for real.07 Jul 2026 12:01 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mq2knq5hoy2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3mpnyc4mrr327When the money won't stretch, decisions stop being about the best option and become about the least-bad one: which priority is low enough to reject. Balancing competing priorities is harder than it looks. Rehearsing that trade-off, before it's real, is what we do.02 Jul 2026 12:01 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpnyc4mrr327https://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3mpixgqohmz2rTen years ago, Evocatus was an idea, a logo and a conviction: that the skills of leading and training teams could be applied beyond defence. A decade on, that conviction still drives us, from cyber resilience to early life nutrition. Thank you to all who've come along. Here's to the next ten!30 Jun 2026 12:02 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpixgqohmz2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3mozaj4adcv2iToday is Reserves Day 2026. A reservist brings back leadership under real pressure and calm decisions on incomplete information; the gap they leave is repaid with interest. To the reservists who serve, and the employers who release them: thank you. The value flows both ways.24 Jun 2026 06:02 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mozaj4adcv2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3mowzsnse7c2yBowling with the bumpers up: every ball hits, everyone feels like a champ, and nobody learns to bowl. A wargame where no decision can fail is the same thing. If nothing you decided could have failed, it was not a wargame. We're at DSET this week. Come and bowl without the bumpers.23 Jun 2026 08:57 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mowzsnse7c2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3mokj7iqjgh2r18 June is International Panic Day. Panic is a herd response to the unfamiliar. You keep your head by making sure the moment isn't unfamiliar when it lands. A crisis game lets your team meet the bad day while nothing's at stake. What crisis do you need to inoculate yours against?18 Jun 2026 09:28 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mokj7iqjgh2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3mofgkabh4r26A plan you have not tested to destruction is one you do not yet understand; the rest is cheery optimism. Swinton's 1904 Defence of Duffer's Drift made the case for wargaming: fail fast, learn, go again, where failure costs nothing. Where is optimism doing the heavy lifting in your planning?16 Jun 2026 08:57 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mofgkabh4r26https://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3mnyvx2a74s25This Saturday, over 1 300 soldiers make Trooping the Colour look effortless, to the minute. It looks easy only because every fault was found in rehearsal first. Most organisations write a plan and hope. What plan should you be rehearsing before the watching world sees it?11 Jun 2026 09:28 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnyvx2a74s25https://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3mnttbry7q226Every plan has two versions: the one on PowerPoint, and the one that happens under pressure. The gap is where things break. Run live exercises long enough and you learn it the hard way. What plan of yours looked great on a slide but was never tested?09 Jun 2026 08:57 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnttbry7q226https://bsky.app/profile/evocatusuk.bsky.social/post/3mnij3qnif42u86 years ago today, Operation Dynamo ended. 338,000 men came home. Almost nothing else did: 700 tanks, 64,000 vehicles, enough equipment for 10 divisions. Churchill warned the Commons not to mistake survival for victory. Real resilience is maintaining focus until the win is actually won.04 Jun 2026 20:55 +0000at://did:plc:2fyf4ypo7xfivghqzinl4nmy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnij3qnif42u