A seat at the table, or a spot on the menu?
Negotiation is a process of finding a solution to a question that is acceptable to all parties. It should go without saying that the first step is to actually communicate, setting out to find areas of compromise, and places of potential value not immediately obvious...
What to do Vs. What is going on
Experience is hard won, experienced people have an intuition built up over time that is not always obvious, and is certainly not a "by the list" analysis of all the factors, weighing up the relative importance of each, and reaching a conclusion. Somehow it is a...
Invention or innovation
These two terms are often used interchangeably, but have a different meaning that I have mumbled about from time to time. This post on the PARC blog in response to Malcolm Gladwells article in the New Yorker is terrific articulation of the difference. "Simply put:...
Lean accounting
One of the reasons it is sometimes hard to keep a lean initiative alive, or indeed, get it past first base after the initial adrenalin has worn off is the manner in which the traditional accounting systems monitor performance. Often, accounting is the hardest...
The core of innovation
How easy it is to believe that the only thing needed for a successful NPD&C process is assets, money, people, time, capabilities, market position, and so on, but how often is it that the real innovations emerge from places where these benefits are absent. On those...
The Immediacy trap
"Immediacy" is perhaps the watch-word to describe the way in which our society works. Communication is so instant that we expect reaction to the communication to be just as quick, and this expectation of virtually instantaneous reaction can be a death trap for those...
The character of a leader
I listened to the Rugby League game yesterday between the Broncos and the Raiders, an extraordinary game that the Broncos had won, almost lost, then won in a golden point "coin toss" For no particular reason, the term "character" came to mind while listening. It is...
Root causes of success
A basic discipline of Lean Thinking is the quest for the root cause of a problem, enabling a solution to treat the disease, not just the symptoms. The converse discipline, seeking the root cause of success so that it can be understood, articulated and used to build...
Business & Sustainability
Is there a win win here, does being sustainable environmentally mean a compromise to commercial sustainability, or is environmental sustainability a foundation of commercial sustainability? Increasingly the latter is becoming the more obvious answer. As the green...
Still think Social media is a fad???
Try this on U-tube, a recitation of stats that should leave no doubt that social media is mainstream, not a toy for the digital generation. OK, we all know you cannot believe everything you see on the web, so halve all the numbers, quarter them, and it still does not...