We are becoming increasingly aware of the need for collaboration and cooperation. This is not yet the mainstream for management and organizations, but the more complexity becomes the backdrop and context of what we do and experience, the more we need to find up-to-date ways to exist within that complexity. Is it just about being […]
Tools for Meaningful Meetings with Purpose and Results
People spend an inordinate amount of their lives in meetings. More often than not, these meetings do not achieve satisfactory results, despite best intentions. Our time on this planet is finite and none of us can afford to waste time that could be dedicated to achieving something meaningful. There is something about getting a group […]
What If We Need Intelligent Emotions More Than Emotional Intelligence?
We know that intelligence and emotions are not the same. Certainly, people may be capable of great intellectual prowess but be cold and unfeeling. Other people may be kind and generous without having any particular academic inclination. While there may be extreme cases, most of us, and especially leaders and managers, live with the delicate […]
Innovation and Technology – A New Curriculum for Managers and Leaders
There is a lot of noise in our world today about innovation, particularly technological innovation. Undoubtedly, technology is a powerful aid to sustain transformation, but we need to understood what innovation really means. As we complete our series on a new curriculum for managers and leaders, we have to consider the question of innovation and technology as a […]
New Skills for Managers and Leaders (that Business Schools are Not Yet Providing)
We continue our series on what is needed today for leaders and managers that Business Schools are not offering. In the 21st century organizations need to shift away from the artificial limitations of traditional hierarchies and silos and this change does require a cognitive shift. As we pointed out in our previous post, people within the organization […]
A New Curriculum for Business and Management
Our business world is changing rapidly. Complexity dominates and old solutions no longer work. Some refer to this as the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’. Given all these changes, it is remarkable to see that MBAs are offering much the same program content as 20 years ago. We believe that a radical change is needed in the […]
Uncertainty and Choice: Quantum Mechanics for Leaders and Managers
Let’s be honest with ourselves: we don’t like uncertainty and we don’t like variation in everyday life. However, we can, and we must, live with both. But we can do much more than just put up with them when we understand them better and new science helps leaders and managers do just that. Making decisions and […]
How to Grow a Startup into a Sustainable Company
Startups abound. There is no lack of imagination, determination, and even funding for a good idea. The problem becomes, what happens next? The mortality rates of startups is high. We were asked, how can you keep startups alive so they grow to the a next, bigger and economically sustainable phase, especially given the complexity of […]
From Silos to System: the New Organization for Complexity
Why are organizations still plagued with all the drawbacks of silos? Because they still adopt a worldview that is out of synch with our times. In order to navigate complexity, organizations must shift from the obsolete, Newtonian worldview of individual, separate and hierarchical parts. What is the direction they need to adopt? Working towards a […]
How Much Truth in ‘House of Lies’?
House of Lies, a riveting award-winning TV series, is a scathing indictment of the world of management consulting. When you strip away the hyper-real excess of lust, luxury, greed and vengeance, what truth, if any, can we find? Beyond the entertainment value, there seems little that is real in the world of management consultant star […]