A huge amount of time and energy can be wasted in companies through misunderstandings. They cause blockages and delays because they create frustration and possibly resentment, and if left to fester over time they become chronic problems. Misunderstandings are poison when it comes to creating smooth workflow. So what can we do about it? Before we burn […]
Being a Positive Influence in Challenging Times
There’s a lot of noise and chaos out there. At times reality feels more like being King Lear in the middle of a cosmic storm than any kind of “normality”. (Acclaimed actress Glenda Jackson at the age of 80 is currently delivering a knock out performance as King Lear in London for those lucky enough […]
Performance Optimization and Interdependencies: When 1+1= More Than 2
What happens when more than one person or more than one thing work together in the same direction? Is the result just the simple sum of their efforts? The answer to this question is yes, but ONLY when the elements involved are independent of each other. In the theory of systems, the global “performance” of any […]
Remembrance of the Future: Brexit and Trump
Two major disruptions have happened recently that most people did not see coming. One is the Brexit referendum, something that is threatening the hard-earned unity of Europe, the other is the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States. It’s something to reflect on, especially today, Veterans Day in the USA and Remembrance Day, […]
Complexity and Leaders: Nixon, Frost, Bulworth and the USA Elections
At Intelligent Management we all share a passion for the movies. Two of the movies shown on TV during this 2016 presidential election week shed light on the complexity of American leadership and politics. On election day we take the opportunity to share a few thoughts on contemporary politics and society. Bulworth and the Ugly […]
We Don’t Need Management Techniques – We Need Knowledge
The internet abounds with techniques and tips, giving the illusion that in a short amount of time it’s possible to master the answers to our problems. That may be true for, say, getting the most from a laptop. However, if we rely on ‘management techniques’ and ‘management by tips’ for running a business or launching a startup, […]
What Would Mr. Selfridge Think of Sears? Back to the Future of Retail
The Wall Street Journal hailed the ‘Mr. Selfridge’ TV series as “addicting”. It elaborately tells the tale of Harry Selfridge, the American retail king of London who brought the department store to unprecedented success at the beginning of the 20th century. The Selfridges store remains today a hallmark of upscale London retail. But what would […]
Ten Steps for Company Transformation from Silos to Whole System
Organizations today are plagued by silos. They create artificial barriers that not only slow down but undermine the efforts of companies to achieve their goal. What is needed, instead, is a whole system organization capable of maximizing the flow of its processes, the quality of its output and the involvement of everyone working there. How can […]
Purpose and Brand: What’s the Difference?
We’re just back from 5 weeks in Europe and plenty of new input from clients and conversations with universities. We’ll be reporting back on all that. One of the themes that comes up regularly in our work is that of purpose. This is because we generally start a relationship with a new client by […]
Management Education: Updating Learning for the Age of Complexity
The major problem managers face today is complexity, and the current business degrees and MBAs on offer are not equipping their graduates with the right knowledge and tools. Managers today must be able to understand how things interdepend and evolve in order to navigate complexity. In our previous post we proposed a solution for organizational […]
