Readers of this blog will know that we promote a systemic understanding of companies and a systems science-based method for managing all aspects of an enterprise, from strategy through to day-to-day operations. We see organizations as entities that are not a collection of separate pieces but as highly interconnected networks of projects and there is an […]
How to Cope With Change: Understanding Cause and Effect
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. Nobody would recommend change for the sake of it. However, our […]
Decisions and Change – Thinking Processes for a Complex World
Why is the world today so complex? Because interconnections and interdependencies multiply at an ever-increasing speed. On top of this, we struggle to understand how this new kind of reality works. Every day, we participate in a super intricate ‘network of networks’ but we have a very limited understanding of the underlying properties of these […]
Creating Connections Between Company Functions – Back to Deming
We’re a little late this week with our post as we are working intensively with clients who are growing, in spite of a global crisis. This is one of the principal benefits of adopting a systemic approach. We would like to share with you something that the Director of an international recruiting company posted […]
Human Resources – a New Perspective for Our Post-Pandemic World
We cannot know when, exactly, but a moment will come when we will move forward beyond the lockdowns. There are those who long to “go back to normal. But that would mean to squander the unique opportunity the global crisis has given us: to usher in a level of transformation in the way we work […]
What’s Driving Profitability in Your Business and What Isn’t – How to Find Out
If you knew accurately what is actually making money in your company wouldn’t that then influence all your decisions regarding cost and investment? Well, isn’t that what accounting is for? The problem is, traditional accounting fails to give a complete and correct picture of what is happening dynamically and what is really driving profitability. Every company is […]
A New Economics for Sustainable Prosperity – Out of the Crisis Series Part 7
The current crisis is driving home dramatically the realization that organizations need to make more and do more with the resources they have available. We will only achieve this if we are able to undertake a shift in the way we understand how to manage all the resources available in a sustainable way. It is […]
Identifying Assumptions to Unlock Innovation and Move Beyond the Crisis – Out of the Crisis Series Part 6
In the previous part of this series, Part 5: Learning to Think Systemically to Make Informed Decisions and Pre-empt a Crisis, we saw how the Conflict Cloud Thinking Process helps us identify a situation of blockage and understand why this blockage exists in the first place. What keeps us stuck is the set of assumptions, or […]
Learning to Think Systemically to Make Informed Decisions and Pre-empt a Crisis – Out of the Crisis Part 5
What is the real difficulty that we face in wanting to create a true learning organization that overcomes the hierarchical/functional structure and replaces it with the far more suitable network of projects? The real issue here derives from the mental barriers that prevent individuals and organizations from working together as a system for a common […]
How to Manage Decentralized Work – Out of the Crisis Series Part 4
Making the best use of the resources we have in a sustainable way was always necessary, but it has become dramatically evident and urgent following the Coronavirus crisis. The lockdowns that have forced organizations to carry on working outside their normal locations are accelerating a major change that was already taking place – the shift […]