If traditional style hierarchies are no longer appropriate for our fast-changing world, then what is a realistic, operational alternative? How can we make organizations flatter and at the same time ensure speed of flow and meaningful work in a fair way? And how to we achieve a flatter organization operationally? Start with the right mindset The […]
Can Systemic Thinking Save the World?
What would happen if we all embraced a systemic vision of the world, if we all started thinking and acting with a systemic awareness, if we learned a method to connect the dots? What if we taught children and students to see opportunities that otherwise would not be visible, to anticipate and defuse negative implications? What if we […]
The Age of Management Crisis and the Knowledge We Now Need
We are living in an age of “management crisis”. This is because so many leaders are unaware of the appropriate knowledge to manage the complexity of the Digital Age. Fortunately, this knowledge already exists. Knowledge, Theory and Experience Management knowledge can only come from solid theory; this knowledge advances thanks to the continuous feedback that takes […]
Why We Get Stuck on the Path to Change – The Human Constraint
“The only thing that does not require maintenance is obsolescence”, as Dr. W. Edwards Deming used to say. This is a fundamental truth: if we do not evolve, we regress. What makes everything more complicated is the pace at which we must evolve to survive. Technology speeds everything up, including the world of technology. Digital transformation involves transformation of business […]
Purpose-Driven Business – Why and How
An increasing number of organizations are talking about purpose. Purpose is the reason for which something exists. But when people talk about purpose they don’t just mean a goal. They mean purposefulness, a deeper meaning, a higher purpose. This is what some call the purpose economy, one that is geared towards good and the social and […]
Elite and Inadequate Leaders – How They are Failing
We seem to be living a unique moment of leadership crisis. Many of those who were born and/or educated as a leadership elite are failing in their positions. The USA and the UK have produced admired leaders in the past but today are far from being good examples. Both countries are reeling from the effects […]
Can Charity Boost Business?
This is a time of year when many charity organizations reach out for donations. There is charity and there is business. Two very separate things with very different purposes. Or are they? But what if donating is not about being good? What if it’s actually an intelligent way of making sure our system/community yields its maximum? […]
Increasing Productivity and Capacity with What Your Organization Has Now
It’s not a trick, a gimmick or a quick fix recipe. It’s a way of thinking, a mindset; some would go as far as saying it’s a way of being. The revolutionary nature of Goldratt’s approach to Project Management often gets lost. In this post, we look at just one of the crucial aspects that […]
Ensuring Growth in the Digital Age: Looking at Retail
The speed of the change that digitization is bringing is dizzying. It is forcing companies to think hard about the very meaning of the way they do business. Old models are no longer valid and businesses need to catch up fast or lose market share and opportunities. Consolidated experience that had a high value suddenly […]
Is Amazon a Dysfunctional Organization? Definition and Cure
“There is no such thing as a dysfunctional organization, because every organization is perfectly aligned to achieve the results it gets.” – Jeff Lawrence. We were asked to comment on this statement. Here is our reply. The word dysfunctional contains the prefix dys- from the Greek meaning “bad”, “abnormal”, “difficult”, or “impaired”. We can say […]