There are three steps that allow any organization to achieve optimal performance. Before we say what they are, let’s step back and understand one fundamental principle that affects how organizations get results. What happens when more than one person or more than one entity work together in the same direction? Is the result just the […]
Silos – Overcoming the Enemy of Digital Transformation
If organizations need to learn anything today it’s how to overcome silos. Silos are the number one enemy of productivity and competitiveness, especially in digital transformation. They also seriously threaten the quality of life of employees. An article by former Navy Seal Chris Fussell ‘The battlefield experience that made me realize the danger of silos and isolated […]
Overcoming Divisiveness with Practical Collaboration
Today we have unprecedented technological means for connection, so it is paradoxical that there is so much divisiveness in the world. Divisiveness is one of the most negative forces we face, whether it be at the level of individuals or nations. Polarization is increasing, creating an ever greater divide between the haves and have nots […]
The Human Constraint and Leadership Thinking
Our lives today are filled with unprecedented levels of rapid change and complexity. Unintended consequences can quickly emerge from inadequate leadership thinking, so we have an urgent need to learn to think in a “joined-up” way. The definition of ‘joined-up thinking” is: “thinking about a complicated problem in an intelligent way that includes all the […]
How Businesses Can Make the World Better – Whole System Transformation
People struggle to understand big systems, such as nations and alliances. It’s just too big and complicated (what better proof than U.K. citizens voting to leave the European Union.) So they try to break things down into simpler pieces, build walls and set up barriers (silos, fiefdoms, departments). Unfortunately, that just doesn’t work. Why? The […]
85% of Global Employees Are Disengaged: How to Build Employee Engagement
According to a recent Gallup State of the Global Workplace report, 85% of employees are not engaged or actively disengaged at work. The economic consequences of this global “norm” are approximately $7 trillion in lost productivity. …this global engagement pattern provides evidence that how performance is managed, and specifically how people are being developed, is misfiring. […]
Borders, Tariffs and Brexit – Misunderstanding Complexity
Wherever you live and whether you care or not about the UK staying in or exiting the European Union (EU), the result of Brexit in eight month’s time will affect you. The same goes for any Trade Wars sparked through new tariffs. Why? Firstly, because we live in a highly interdependent and therefore complex world […]
How to Lead Change Management – A Systemic Approach
Any time leaders try to introduce change into an organization they will be faced with the fear and conflicts of the people involved in the changes. This is true for digital transformation and it is true for any major shift. If these reactions and resistance to change are not managed, they will remain real and present […]
Systemic Change Management – a Joined-Up Way to Transform
“The only thing that does not require maintenance is obsolescence”, as Dr. W. Edwards Deming used to say. 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 […]
How to Start Building Cooperation for the Digital Future
Digitization will inevitably lead organizations to shift their way of working in radical ways, especially regarding cooperation. Dr. Domenico Lepore writes here about transforming the enterprise for the digital future. According to Gartner senior VP Dale Kutnick, digitalization will require: business development; the IT department and the product management or engineering team – to work […]