Today we learn that the Trump administration have just made an assault on financial regulation, announcing an ‘array of steps to tear down safeguards enacted to prevent a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis’ according to the New York Times. Described as a ‘gift to Wall Street’, the news leaves us speechless, so our blog post […]
How Organizations Can Improve Work-life Balance Right Now
Work-life balance is defined by some as prioritizing between work (career and ambition) and lifestyle (health, pleasure, family and spiritual development). There is an immediate problem with this definition as it compartmentalizes people’s lives in a, frankly, unrealistic and undesirable way. It suggests that people leave their authentic selves at home, like a coat, when they go […]
True Innovation: How to Do It
What exactly is innovation? One thing it is not is “a good idea”. There are plenty of good ideas in the world but that is not enough to build a project, let alone a start-up. And yet it happens. Time, money and resources are invested in “good ideas” that do not have legs and so […]
Variation and a Playbook for Organizations
As superbowl excitement rises, lessons can be learned from a team like the Patriots. They have the most systemic approach to football of any team and their consistent choice of players that other teams reject shows their dependence on their playbook, in other words, carefully mapped interdependencies that work towards achieving the goal. The team […]
Logical Problem Solving Is Never Enough
Every day we are faced with problems that need solving, both personal and organizational. The more complex the problem the more we need to be sure we have a robust way to analyze what’s wrong so we can generate and effectively implement an appropriate solution. That may sound obvious, but how many decision makers actually […]
Brainware for Conflict Resolution and Building Peace and Prosperity
A brief scan of headlines today led to reading some alarming news. The USA has been downgraded from “full democracy” to “flawed democracy” (see Fortune article) and Mikhail Gorbachev made the statement in Time Magazine “It all looks as if the world is preparing for war.” Never take peace for granted Temperatures are rising in the world, politically […]
Does Universal Healthcare Make Any Sense?
A recent conversation was a reminder that few things like universal healthcare can mark a divide between Americans and Europeans (and Canadians). Americans tend to consider healthcare not a right but something to be earned. There is a moral argument going on here. But what if providing healthcare for all just makes scientific and economic sense? […]
Marketing Requires Knowledge and Method, not Techniques
There’s a lot of mystique and myth about marketing (and sales). What are they really? In this post we propose a solid, proven systems approach. Serious marketing leaves no room for improvisation. It requires thought, consistency and relentless effort. The methodical effort translates into consistent, monitorable results with built-in continuous improvement. Marketing is not a “company function” […]
Four Essential Qualities for Leadership in Today’s Complex World
Times are changing fast and leaders need to adapt. We have evolved far beyond a simple situation where people just need to be told what to do. What does it take to be a leader in today’s complex word? We give four essential qualities required for 21st century leadership. Number One: A leader must have […]
How to Shift from Underperforming Silos to a Sustainable System
In this post we look at how to design an organization as a sustainable system, how to operate as a sustainable system, and the results this will help us achieve. Any organization is already a system What would happen if everyone came to work and just did their own thing? Even with the best of intentions, this would […]
