How do companies keep up with or, better still, stay ahead of the curve with the ever-accelerating technological and cultural change that influences our world today? After all, the first text message was sent less than thirty years ago. Google has only been around for two decades, Facebook fifteen years and Twitter twelve years. Companies…
I have been driving vehicles for many years now and enjoy the experience. One of the big problems faced by any driver of all vehicles is the inherent blind spots – areas outside the vehicle that the normal rear-facing mirrors can’t pick up. To overcome this problem, most vehicles have split rear-facing mirrors to reflect…
“Business leaders are increasingly focusing on risks that threaten to disrupt the fundamental assumptions of their organisations’ strategies. Prioritising such risks has become increasingly crucial – these risks cannot be handled in typical organisational silos, and they can destroy sources of value creation for the business. Yet, they also have the potential to form the…
One of the hallmarks of a good business manager is the ability to unlock creativity amongst other managers, supervisors and employees. There are many misconceptions about “creativity”. There is a body of people who believe that creativity is a loose form of self-expression, perhaps unrelated to anything going on in the business world. Some see…
I use coloured flipchart markers frequently during my consulting sessions and workshop facilitation for companies, not only to record ideas and other thoughts for the groups, but also to depict concepts graphically and illustrate themes. I was recently introduced to the Neuland suite of products, a range of markers and related products of which is…
All companies need them – talented individuals who are not just satisfied with the status quo, but rather who push the perceived boundaries of innovation, creativity and exploration to arrive at better ways of doing things, new or enhanced product suites and improved ways of supplying customers with exactly what they need. If encouraged and…
Millennials, those born after 1980 and before 2000 and representing well over 35% of the world’s population, are a largely talented and versatile group. For many companies with rigid structures and systems, this generation can be incredibly frustrating, illusive and highly challenging. In terms of employing millennials, the best are hard to find and even…
According to an old legend, vizier Sissa Ben Dahir presented an Indian King Sharim with a beautiful, hand-made chessboard. The king asked what he would like in return for his gift and the courtier surprised the king by asking for one grain of rice on the first square, two grains on the second, four grains…
For many decades, 3M’s executives have focused on a constant flow of terrific new products. In order to achieve this, in 1956, the company instituted a catalytic mechanism that is now widely known: design engineers and scientists are urged to spend 15% of their time experimenting and inventing in the area of their preference –…
So, you have worked hard at developing your career – all your needed studies are complete, you have gained experience in your field and your expertise has set you up as a trusted practitioner. You are respected and your job is stable. You produce quality work and you are appreciated. Your colleagues rely on your…
I so enjoyed the “Connecting the Dots” or “Dot to Dot” game when I was a child. Seeing an image appear before me, as if by magic, when I connected the dots in the correct sequence gave me a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. It was fascinating to attempt to work out the shapes and…
Solving the world’s poverty dilemma is surely too big a topic to handle in a short article. A key emerging facet of the solution, however, is the steady increase in entrepreneurship worldwide. Small and large projects, when managed well through skilful leadership, develop profit, offer job opportunities for many and uplift the communities in which…
