What's the key to a successful business? Why do some sink and others swim? Is it just a case of having the right product at the right time? Or is it that the company is good at managing and deflecting crises when they arise? The Greiner Curve is a simple tool that lays out the […]
I hold my hands up. I'm terrible at decision making. From the most basic to the biggest of decisions, it can take me ages to make my mind up. The Perils of Too Much Choice Yes, it's great to have choice, and we've never had more choice than we do now. But sometimes it can […]
The Three Box Solution, brainchild of professor and best-selling author Vijay Govindarajan, is as simple as its name. There's a box each for the present, the past, and the future. The "solution" refers to the question at the heart of all innovation strategy: how do you create your future while managing the present? "If a company […]
Depending on how you view it, life is but a series of challenges to be overcome... How we approach and deal with these challenges determines the pattern and quality of our lives. Most of us are pretty adept at handling our challenges – the fact that the human race hasn't petered out […]
Career Skills, Change Management, Communication, Creativity, Decision Making, Problem Solving, Strategy
I turn my back on the gray, drizzly high street and stand at the threshold of the store, blinking in the light of a thousand LED bulbs. The light bounces off the glossy white walls, and sparkles on the cases of a hundred smooth and futuristic-looking mobile phones. It also glints off the solid black […]
These days, there's change everywhere you look, from new technology in the office to new ways of communicating with friends. It's great when this change is easy to keep up with. But sometimes new systems and approaches can cause anxiety. Will other people "get with the program" more quickly than we do? What does that […]
All Posts, Career Skills, Leadership, Learning Skills, Team Management, Uncategorized
I was looking forward to interviewing leading sustainability expert Wayne Visser for our Expert Interview podcast. The plan was to talk face-to-face but we ended up speaking via Skype instead. I’d like to say I chose technology over transport to reduce my carbon footprint, but actually the decision was more about timing. This got me […]
All Posts, Change Management, Expert Interview, Leadership, Strategy, Team Management
There are many occasions in life when it seems easier to stay on a familiar, risk-free, but ultimately unsatisfying path, rather than to strike off into uncharted territory. And it's easy to understand that position. If you have a family or a mortgage, or economic conditions are tough, the risks of change can appear to […]
Balancing the macro and the micro is an everyday challenge for leaders. It's certainly your job to keep your eye on the big picture. What's going on in your markets? How are your competitors addressing customer needs? And closer to home, how does your balance sheet look? At the same time, you need to make […]
All Posts, Decision Making, Expert Interview, Leadership, Strategy, Team Management
Imagine that your company is about to be taken over by its largest competitor. You’ve read the press release on the Internet, but executives have been eerily quiet about what it means for you and your team. The rumor mill is predicting job losses, but you have no idea how many or for whom. Instead of […]
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