The problem with comfort zones is that we stick with them even when they are no longer fit for purpose. We prefer to squeeze ourselves into an awkward space as long as it’s familiar, rather than expanding into the unknown. Comfort zones prevent us from doing anything that goes beyond what we already know. In […]
Project Resilience – a Systems View
Conversations at Intelligent Management this week have been abuzz with Project Management. This is hardly surprising as we have been preparing to speak at the sold-out event tomorrow evening for PMI Northern Italy dedicated to the New Leadership for Complexity. But also because Project Management really is at the heart of every kind of business. […]
Network Connections? Affinity Is What Counts
Is all that effort to make network connections a waste of time? Network theory has something to teach us about all that. A lot of energy is consumed every day by people, groups, and organizations who frantically try to make as many connections as possible. They do so for a reason: to increase their contacts […]
How to Increase Your Energy Level at Work – a Systems View
When Intelligent Management first started working with American firms over 15 years ago we couldn’t help noticing differences in working habits. We were impressed by the dedication and work ethic, but it quickly became apparent that those 6am meetings meant that by 4pm people were fried. However, when the CEO goes to the gym at […]
Intelligent Emotions and Variation – beyond EQ
All processes, human and non, whether we are aware of it or not, are affected by variation. If we want to be able to predict the outcome of our processes, i.e. manage them, we need to understand, measure and manage the variation in those processes. The alternative is to manage by the seat of our […]
Your Job as a Leader/Manager? Reduce Variation
They may not be teaching this in MBAs, but a company is a complex system ruled by non-linear interactions that make it difficult to make any prediction when any change is effected. That’s why any approach to improve the company has to be “holistic”, i.e. address the whole system, and consider all the interactions/interdependencies. What is […]
A Business Management Software Can Never Run Your Company
A client embarking on a pattern of transformation through systemic management recently asked ‘How soon will I be able to use the software to manage the company?’ It’s tempting to think that by buying and ‘installing’ the right software, a company can magically acquire a whole new way of operating that will lead to more […]
Design Thinking and the Power of a Systemic Thinking Tool
We were asked to contribute to a workshop for post-graduate students from diverse backgrounds who co-create an interdisciplinary design strategy under the guidance of a faculty of professional designers and architects. As Systemic Thinkers who work with the Decalogue Methodology, what can we share with these students? That the final product of our design effort should be a […]
A New Organizational Model for the Digital Age
As we’re enjoying a visit here in Victoria, BC from Goldratt’s original publisher, Larry Gadd who published our foundational work, ‘Deming and Goldratt: The Decalogue’ – the first book to be published by North River Press on the Theory of Constraints that was not by Goldratt himself – it’s a good occasion to look again […]
The Traditional Hierarchy Organization Doesn’t Work Anymore
Why are people still stuck in adopting a traditional hierarchy and functional organization structure when there are clearly so many drawbacks? When organizations are created and organized in a matrix of vertical hierarchy and functions, an inevitable consequence is the existence of a series of “walls” or divisions that inhibit the resources involved in producing an optimal […]
