In business, and in life, there can be times when it feels as though you are walking a tightrope. Every step is hazardous. It’s a scary prospect and it takes great skill to keep your footing. While speaking to an entrepreneur recently we were reminded of the anecdote of a Rabbi who was confident that […]
Misunderstandings – How to Iron Them Out and Smooth Your Workflow
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Why and How to Build a Purpose-Driven Organization
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 […]
Time Constraints? Try This…
If you’re looking for a way to increase your productivity, and most of us are, you can take some powerful inputs from the Theory of Constraints. Every day, we all have to perform a number of tasks in different areas of our lives. Clearly, we can’t give equal attention to everything, so how can we […]
Constraints? Not a Bad Thing
On a client’s website, they rightfully explain that their technology frees their customers of certain constraints. What exactly do we mean by constraints and are they a totally bad thing? We all want more freedom. A constraint would seem, by definition, to be something that robs us of freedom. But what we need to do […]
Digital Transformation and Systemic Change Management
Dr. W. Edwards Deming used to say: “The only thing that does not require maintenance is obsolescence”. 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. We’ve been looking at […]
