The problem with comfort zones is that we stick with them even when they are no longer fit for purpose. We prefer to squeeze ourselves into an awkward space as long as it’s familiar, rather than expanding into the unknown. Comfort zones prevent us from doing anything that goes beyond what we already know. In […]
Archives for May 2017
Project Resilience – a Systems View
Conversations at Intelligent Management this week have been abuzz with Project Management. This is hardly surprising as we have been preparing to speak at the sold-out event tomorrow evening for PMI Northern Italy dedicated to the New Leadership for Complexity. But also because Project Management really is at the heart of every kind of business. […]
Innovation and Work: From Galileo to Blockchain
Every year in Padua, Italy, the university of Padua, one of the oldest in the world, organizes the Galileo Innovation Festival. Intelligent Management was delighted to be invited by Adacta Innovation Lab to speak this year at the historical Caffè Pedrocchi together with Stefano Righetti, CEO of Hyphen-Italia and Patrizio Bof, CEO of Infinite Area. […]
Network Connections? Affinity Is What Counts
Is all that effort to make network connections 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 their contacts […]
How to Increase Your Energy Level at Work – a Systems View
When Intelligent Management first started working with American firms over 15 years ago we couldn’t help noticing differences in working habits. We were impressed by the dedication and work ethic, but it quickly became apparent that those 6am meetings meant that by 4pm people were fried. However, when the CEO goes to the gym at […]
Hierarchy vs. Flow: How Can We Exert Control in Organizations?
How can managers exert control in organizations effectively? The traditional model for control is the hierarchical model. It exists because personal capacity for control is limited, and the assumption is that by adding hierarchical levels we increase personal capacity for control. The problem is, work is in fact a flow, and this gets lost […]
Intelligent Emotions and Variation – beyond EQ
All processes, human and non, whether we are aware of it or not, are affected by variation. If we want to be able to predict the outcome of our processes, i.e. manage them, we need to understand, measure and manage the variation in those processes. The alternative is to manage by the seat of our […]
Your Job as a Leader/Manager? Reduce Variation
They may not be teaching this in MBAs, but a company is a complex system ruled by non-linear interactions that make it difficult to make any prediction when any change is effected. That’s why any approach to improve the company has to be “holistic”, i.e. address the whole system, and consider all the interactions/interdependencies. What is […]
