When it comes to managing projects, many people imagine things that are simply not true. For example, it is quite common to think that multitasking is more productive than working sequentially. The assumption behind this statement is that by carrying out more than one task at the same time, we can complete the project […]
Resource Optimization – Don’t Make the 100% Efficiency Mistake
Do you think getting everything in your system/organization to work at 100% is the right way to create maximum efficiency? Dr. Giovanni Siepe explains how we can learn from management science (and other sources) that there is a better way. Not too long ago I was reading about “Sukkot”, a holiday celebrated at the end […]
Freedom from the Trap of Silos through a Network of Projects
Many organizations still have traditional hierarchies and silo their people into functions. But the complexity of today’s reality needs something different. With the exponential growth of interconnections and interdependencies, a traditional organizational design can undermine productivity and sustainable growth. Here we summarize the organizational design we propose, based on two decades of international work, specifically applied to […]
Why Teams Need Synchronization to Achieve the Goal – A Systems View
How do we manage an organization to cope with complexity? It means understanding the organization as a system and seeing the interdependencies. Independence vs. interdependence What can the theory of systems tell us about managing organizations? First of all, if all the components that make up the system are independent, then the maximum result that the system can produce is simply […]
Meaningful Work: Elevating the Individual in the Organization
Why do we work? Work has almost completely changed its shape in the last 40-50 years, and the aim that work is designed to accomplish should change accordingly. Work can no longer simply be the organization of many elements to achieve a profit for a tiny minority. People today have different expectations and a different […]
Mining the Past to Create the Future
The ancient industry of glass blowing in Venice is threatened by a grim economy, changing taste, and cheaper alternatives. A recent article from The Economist concentrates on the famous island of Murano and the challenges facing the centuries-old tradition. One glass-blowing studio in Murano has found success by working with fine artists to produce rare […]
Connecting in a Network? Its usefulness is all about affinity.
Is all that effort to make connections in a network 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 […]
Everything Is Connected: A New Economics
After a hiatus over the New Year and preparations for a big move West to British Columbia, the Intelligent Management Blog is back! What do a Theatre Director, an entrepreneur and an organizational scientist have in common? When it comes to creating a New Economics, a great deal. Last weekend in Los Angeles, I had […]
A Mining Company With A Heart of Gold
In a recent article by Dawn Cranfield in The Guardian Express entitled A Mining Company with a Heart of Gold – Comstock Mining, Inc., the author draws attention to what makes Comstock a very different kind of mining company: “Comstock Mining, Inc. had their first pour of gold and silver doré, unrefined gold bullion, on […]
Management and Control: a New Perspective
The traditional model for control is the hierarchical model, and the reason for its existence is because personal capacity for control is limited, and adding hierarchical levels increases personal capacity of control. On the other hand, if we want to increase the capacity to listen to the customers and the suppliers, in order to satisfy […]
