In the 1990s, when academics and business leaders first began discussing the idea of applying complexity science to organisations and businesses, their enthusiasm failed to be picked up by the majority of managers. Managers were resistant to seeing the world as it...
Pause. Reflect. Choose. Three words packed with potential. It’s my contention that when coaching executives to pause, reflect and choose, you're not teaching them anything new. You're bringing previously active and now-dormant knowledge back into the crisp light of...
Today’s managers can’t afford the arrogant “I’m-the-all-knowing-boss” narcissism of an earlier generation, a stance always laced with the fear of humiliation should the inevitable pockets of ignorance be exposed. The art of management today is about drawing out the...
What’s the most effective way of converting rivals into allies in the workplace? Most executives who find themselves at the sharp end of a rivalry will turn to reason, presenting new facts, logical arguments and fresh incentives for a more collaborative relationship....
It’s no exaggeration to claim that behaviourist-informed approaches to culture change still dominate the field. The problem is that they don’t work: phrases such as “managing people”, “shaping behaviours” and “driving change” share assumptions that people are passive...
Imagine you’re asked if you’d invest in the company whose annual report is below: If you’d bought its stock four years ago, you’d have quadrupled your money by now. But did you notice what box you were thinking in while reading these figures? This exercise is...