In all our human activities, we are influenced by two “drivers”: one is connected with fear (control, limitation) and one with desire (vision, growth, expansion). That’s the way we are wired as humans. In a moment of crisis, it is natural that fear is very present, but no organization can afford to focus on […]
How to Take the SWOT Analysis to a Whole New Level
This week, a client of ours drew up a SWOT analysis and it turned out to be a very productive event. The SWOT analysis tool has been around for a very long time. The Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats categories are comfortably familiar to many as a way of brainstorming and analyzing the current reality of […]
Empowerment: 5 Questions to Help People Do Their Jobs
Empowerment is a great word but can be meaningless unless we give it an operational definition. Operationally, empowerment means that there is alignment between a person’s authority and the responsibility they are given. Continuing from our previous post on Empowerment, what can we do operationally when people don’t seem able to do their work on […]
Education for the Future of Work? Think Projects and Networks
Work is becoming increasingly project-based; the ability to navigate networks and work within a team towards the completion of simple and complex projects will be required of the future workforce. Unfortunately, we are still basing our education system today on models and content that were appropriate 50-100 years ago but that are no longer so […]
Beyond Logic: Tools for Intelligent Emotions (not just 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 […]
Empowerment – Making it Work Operationally
If you look up “empowerment” on Google there are over 100 million items. So what do we mean by empowerment and why is it such a tricky matter? What tools can we use to make sure empowerment is done more effectively at an operational level? In any organization, things need to get done and people […]
Uncertainty and Choice: Quantum Mechanics for Leaders and Managers
A recent article in ‘Scientific American’ has been getting some attention called ‘Quantum Epistemology for Business’. As two of our partners are physicists we have to have our say so here’s our blog post about business and quantum mechanics, by Dr. Giovanni Siepe. Let’s be honest with ourselves: we don’t like uncertainty and we don’t […]
Is Making a Profit in Conflict with Doing Good? It’s All About Pie
When you frame the question of making a profit versus doing good as a conflict, you can quickly get to the root of the problem. Much of it has to do with the way we think about what profit is. When we challenge our understanding of profit, all kinds of new possibilities arise. How do we […]
Hierarchy and Silos – How they Hurt Project Management
Even with the best Project Management, hierarchy and silos will interfere with outcomes. In this post we look at why that is and how Project Management itself is the answer. If you Google the term ‘Project Management’ you will hundreds of millions of results. It is a multi-billion dollar business and there are official institutes that […]
Radically Rethinking How to Improve Work-Life Balance
Is it possible to find that elusive work-life balance so many seek? We think that’s the wrong question. However, there is something you can do to focus your energies on what you truly need. It works for organizations, and it can work for individuals too. I want it all, and I want it now Our reality […]