Innovation is Organic, not Linear
Innovation is an organic process, and it seems that only with the benefit of hindsight, when the papers are written, does the rationalization of errors, dead-ends, side-tracks, and jumping on the spot, occur to make it seem linear. The best we can do is create the...
Selling an idea internally
Trying to get stakeholder buy-in for an idea that breaks the mould is very hard in most organisations as it challenges the dominating logic of the organisation, what has succeeded in the past, and made it what it is today. This process can be helped by breaking the...
Conflict within a group Vs conflict between groups
Somehow, there is an evolutionally phenomenon at work that kicks in when a group gets larger than 150-200, the number that social research has repeatedly identified as the number of people that any individual can have a relationship with, first postulated by...
Leaders who lead
The word "leader" can have a range of meanings depending on the context. It can mean someone who holds a position of power, and it just defines the position. It can also describe someone who inspires, who points the way, who commands loyalty without asking for...
SME shock absorbers
All businesses are conflicted, small ones more obviously than larger ones. On one hand, the immediate urgency to do whatever necessary to generate the cash to pay the bills, and on the other, the necessity to build capability, relationships, and definitive market...
“Opt in” marketing
Social media, as I keep saying, has changed the rules completely. In the pre-digital days of mass marketing, the consumer simply ignored most of the stuff thrown at them, and there was no genuinely effective mechanism to measure the waste. Now, using the tools of...
Having a goal can be counter-productive.
Continuous improvement initiatives I have seen almost always impose a "finishing line", correctly believing that focusing on an objective is a key to motivate performance. However, what they often miss in this approach to improvement is the cultural aspect of...
brand trashing
If you ever needed evidence of the power of social tools on the net to influence your brands, look at what is happening currently to the Wyeth S26 baby formula. Greenpeace did a couple of tests that indicated there may be genetically modified ingredients in S26, a...
Manufacturing capability shortcomings
A while ago I wrote that there seemed to be the beginnings of some thinking amongst the smaller manufacturing operations I interact with about the relative value of manufacturing in high cost Australia, and retaining control of, and having the opportunity to...
Compliance or Engagement
Much of the typical managers time is spent ensuring and managing compliance, ensuring the rules are followed, the standards and timetables are met. This is all fine, and must happen, but where does the balance between compliance and engagement happen? We are asking...