In 2013 a Communications Director named Justine Sacco landed in Cape Town after a flight from New York. As she switched her phone back on she was met with two messages. The first was from someone she hadn’t spoken to for years: “I’m so sorry to see what’s happening.” The second was from her best … Continue reading How Technology Is Changing Our Conversation
Whatever You Do Today, Don’t Start A Transformation Programme
New research indicates that corporate transformations have a 78% failure rate.
The default position is that most top down change programmes will fail.
Smaller, well focused, spreadable changes, which are introduced on an ongoing basis in an inconspicuous way trump big change almost every time.
The Great Resignation and The Relentless Rise of Work About Work
We really need to start treating people’s time as being more valuable than the organisation’s money. Mark McArthur-Christie In 2012 a civil servant in the German town of Menden wrote a farewell message to his colleagues on the day of his retirement stating that he had not done anything for 14 years. “Since 1998,” he … Continue reading The Great Resignation and The Relentless Rise of Work About Work
Poor Service Isn’t Always An Accident. It’s Often By Design
In markets without much competition, organisations can deliver bad service not because of poor design and management, but simply because they can. Benjamin P. Taylor shared a great thread on Twitter this week outlining the experience of attempting to get some housing support for an elderly relative. I say ‘great thread’ when I really mean … Continue reading Poor Service Isn’t Always An Accident. It’s Often By Design
The People Vs The System – and Why The People Rarely Win
What if we overstate the effect of the people in our organisations, and we spend too much time addressing what they feel and think without addressing the more complex, systemic problems that influence how they perform or behave?
How Do You Solve A Problem Like The NHS?
There comes a point when numbers get so big as to become near incomprehensible. Almost five million people are waiting for health treatment in England alone. Almost 1.2m of them have been waiting at least six months for ‘vital appointments’. Some within the NHS say that in reality that number is far, far greater – … Continue reading How Do You Solve A Problem Like The NHS?
The Hawthorne Effect: Why Employers Need To Be Cautious In Post-Pandemic Planning
In lockdown you can’t really experiment as people have constraints. There are too many variables at play. But now we have the opportunity to test out the best of multiple worlds; home, roam, office, wherever.
Why We Stigmatize The Poor And How To Fight It
Stigma functions as a form of power which is why we need to treat it seriously. When it is left unchallenged it can lead to the exploitation, control or exclusion of others. More positively, stigma is not a one way street -it can be understood, tackled, and reversed.
The Difference Between Good And Bad Organisations
Both good and bad organisations make mistakes, but the good ones are better at learning from them.
What Effect Does Environment Have On Our Ability To Think Creatively?
When you think of the “space to innovate” what immediately springs to mind? Is it the physical space , the mental space, the calendar space? All three? I’ve been thinking a lot about spaces and environments this week: specifically what are the best creative spaces to boost collaboration? Few companies measure whether the design of … Continue reading What Effect Does Environment Have On Our Ability To Think Creatively?
Moving From ‘Big Change That Rarely Happens’ To ‘Small Change That Always Does’
We’re obsessed with big change, but what if we’re underestimating the power of the small changes that lie more easily within our reach?
Turn Your Company Into A Problem Solving Machine
Last week I spent four and half hours in a room with my colleagues trying to get to the root of a problem. Six colleagues: 27 hours of just thinking. Einstein believed the quality of the solution you generate is in direct proportion to your ability to identify the problem you hope to solve. If you jump … Continue reading Turn Your Company Into A Problem Solving Machine
Remote Work Is Always Efficient But Efficient Isn’t Always Effective
There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all. Peter Drucker This week marked my return to in-person facilitation after 16 months. I’m not going to lie. As I began the week with a 5:30am start and a 90 minute commute, I was hardly overjoyed … Continue reading Remote Work Is Always Efficient But Efficient Isn’t Always Effective
How Do We Emerge From a State of Fear?
Be afraid. Be very afraid. That is how the media approached Covid. Be afraid of everything. Be afraid of being tall. Be afraid of being bald. Be afraid of going to the shops and accepting home deliveries. The fearmongering is relentless. Be afraid of your pets. Be afraid for your pets. Just be afraid. Laura Dodsworth In August last year I went back to the … Continue reading How Do We Emerge From a State of Fear?
Why We Fail To Predict The Future
rns out very different than we imagine. The more our organisations actively think about the future the easier it becomes to close the future gap and put yourself into that future.
Innovating Against All Odds: The Endlessly Adaptable Future of Work
Received wisdom isn’t what it used to be. The future will be made up of shades of grey where few things are certain and the best you can do to prepare is to be endlessly adaptable.
The Return To The Office Has Begun. What Next?
39% would consider quitting if their employers weren’t flexible about remote work.
What happens next now more and more bosses are demanding a return to the office?
How To Kill Ideas (Part 53)
Many organisations act as inhibitors of innovation. Rules and protocols are put in place, often for very good reasons, that preserve the status quo. Over time, organisations develop a set of social norms – ‘the way we do things around here’ – that can quell any creativity or dissent. Organisations can quickly develop an autonomic immune response … Continue reading How To Kill Ideas (Part 53)
Why The Employee Idea Scheme Doesn’t Work
The concept of asking employees to share their ideas to drive innovation is always a good one. Unfortunately, the traditional suggestion scheme is, in my opinion, not the way to go about it.
The Rise of The Four Day Work Week
A shorter work week might force us all to cut meetings, limit email and interruptions, and operate at a much more deliberate, productive and happier level.
How (Not) To Change Someone’s Mind
Faced with the choice between changing one’s mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof. ~John Kenneth Galbraith We live in a perpetual echo chamber. We follow the people we like and agree with on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. We read the news sites that … Continue reading How (Not) To Change Someone’s Mind
