October 29, 2020
The reason for its stay of execution is because there are so many dynamics currently in play that are manifestations of the things I’ve been writing about over the past half-decade and I feel like it’s too good an opportunity to miss. And so in this second-to-last missive (at least, second-to last in its current configuration), I want to touch again on issues relating to scale, because not only do I think they’re of prime importance right now, but I’m pretty sure that they will drive what will happen next.
May 1, 2020
As I’ve said many times before, there is no normal: there are only multiple, interconnected dynamics continuously unfurling and unfolding across one another at different speeds (some slowly, at barely perceptible speeds; others too quickly to appreciate).
March 27, 2020
So we need to work together. We will recover from this, but we will immediately face new uncertainties: decarbonising our economies over the next decade is a herculean task compared to this current crisis.
March 27, 2020
One of the critical ideas to grasp when seeking to change systems is the need to be able to work within and across multiples of different contexts at the same time. This is quite challenging for most of us who have lived in a world where
November 21, 2019
Just because we’ve only broadly started gaining an understanding of networks, their structures and their dynamics, it doesn’t mean they have not been at play for a very long time (at least 3.8 billion years, to be specific).
November 20, 2019
So what are the different types of distributions that exist? As it turns out, there are lots—but to avoid making your head explode from cognitive overload*—let us break it down into two key types: Gaussian and Paretian distributions.
February 12, 2019
And so if “architecture is essentially the designing of the spaces we live and breathe in”, what organisational transformation for an increasingly uncertain and complex world needs to be doing right now is designing the spaces in
November 23, 2018
And so it goes if you are working on organisational transformation. You must get off the tour-bus and be prepared to explore and deeply understand your landscape, and most importantly, give yourself the time that is needed.
October 11, 2018
Some time ago, this looking at organisational transformation from different perspectives led me to draw this conclusion about the typical western approach to change: transformation
April 10, 2018
If our collective desire is to avoid unwarranted confidence and bravado, reckless action and unintended negative consequences, and instead influence the evolution of organisations—remembering that they are human complex
December 1, 2017
Unfortunately, because the complicated approach has been the dominant influence in the building of organisations, the management industry has been able to reinforce and propagate itself
August 17, 2017
Most organisational transformation efforts that I see today tend to be based on a similarly-flawed logic. The organisation wants to instantaneously look like
May 24, 2017
We have seen that over the past two centuries, the forces controlling enterprise and the world of work have changed from market to managerial and the domain type from complex to complicated. But what I think we are now only beginning to see are the limitations
May 3, 2017
Over the past decade or so it seems to have become an all-too-familiar occurrence: to awake to an April or May morning to the news overnight of death in the Himalayas, and more often than not, on Everest.
April 10, 2017
Innovation and agility has became the must-do mantra of nearly every organisation today. And yet, despite the mantra’s popularity, it seems that very few folk talking about innovation and agility actually understand what they are saying
March 21, 2017
In my mind it kinda feels like it’s the first day back at school after the holidays and everyone’s catching up on what everyone else did over the break… but of course that’s just me—given it’s now mid-March
December 22, 2016
It’s been full of tumult and unexpected events on a global scale. A whole heap of stuff has gone down that very few folk saw coming.When an onslaught of unexpectedness happens we experience what is known as cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance occurs when our brains struggle to interpret new information that does not correlate with or confirm our existing knowledge or beliefs.
September 30, 2016
So… here’s the truth. Things have been keeping me awake at night of late. Things that, no matter how hard I try, as I lay in my bed, twisting and turning under the sheets, I cannot reconcile in mind. Things that have me really, really, worried.
September 12, 2016
Most of the time, when businesses fail to understand the changing nature of the world, the juicy stuff happens behind close doors*, and you rarely actually get to see the proponents actually play out the drama on the big screen, captured in beautiful yet tragic and haunting vision, as happens in this documentary.
August 1, 2016
So it’s not really that surprising that we’re just a little bit consumed by fear at the moment.During times of massive uncertainty, when we don’t know what’s gonna happen next, our initial response is to become fearful. Humans, after all, don’t trust what they don’t know.
July 8, 2016
Have you found yourself of late asking this question?To yourself, your friends, or perhaps anyone who just happens to be in your remote vicinity?I know I have.Because seriously, it seems that things are getting just a little bit out of whack. Or at least more out of whack than normal.
June 20, 2016
We understand that things need to change, and we understand that we need to become more responsive to the rapidly-changing landscape, but we’re not so sure where to start. It often leads to grand statements about dramatic transformation initiatives and new company visions to become more agile and innovative.
June 6, 2016
I love reading and my appetite for books which both challenge and compliment my thinking could perhaps be described at times as voracious.
May 23, 2016
It’s that time of year again where for a brief period of time (in between the end of the northern hemisphere winter in April and the start of the Asian monsoon in late May) short windows of stable weather occur at extreme altitude, enabling mountaineers to climb to the summits of the Himalaya’s highest mountains, including, of course, Mount Everest.