The Art Of Replacing Systems: How To Change The World
“Business and human endeavors are systems…we tend to focus on snapshots of isolated parts of the system, and wonder why our deepest problems never get solved.” – Peter Senge Senge had it right. I have never, EVER seen a systemic issue truly resolved with an isolated, tactical solution. Every year, for example, automakers spend millions […]
Mastering The Meeting
(This article originally appeared on 99U. Illustration by Oscar Ramos Orozco.) Meetings are often the bane of many a creative’s existence, especially those working for a big outfit. “Death by meeting” is a common complaint, the lament usually being one of frequency, length, or lack of productivity. Despite the many books written on the subject, […]
Forge Your Front Line, Liberate Your Leaders
What if you were able to grow your business confidently in the direction of your choosing? What if you could consistently provide the most innovative solutions to your customers’ problems? What if you could attract your industry’s best talent? What if you could command premium pricing of products and services that are heavily in demand […]
Doubling Down on Less(ness)
In 1969, the year in which he won the Nobel Prize in Literature, Irish dramatist Samuel Beckett (pictured above) published a short piece of experimental prose entitled Sans in French. He then rewrote the piece in English and called it Lessness. It begins this way: Ruins true refuge long last towards which so many false […]
The “Loose Reins” Approach to Management
As my friend Bob Sutton is fond of saying, “sometimes the best management is no management.” Over at Harvard Business Review, they’ve posted The “Loose Reins” Approach to Management, the second of my three-part series building on The “Less-is-Best” Approach to Innovation. You can read the full post HERE.