Over the past couple of decades, the acceleration of technology and other marketplace drivers have radically changed the very nature of change. Whereas change was once a contained transactional event (and far easier to control), it is now more fluid, open-ended, complex, personal and unceasing. “Transformation” is the latest change concept that has emerged and…
Many companies languish with cultures that neither meet organisational needs nor address the core needs of individuals and teams. Although leadership teams intuitively and experientially know that culture impacts on how people behave and perform, few leaders know how to tackle cultural issues (and rectify them where necessary). According to quite a few of these…
Some time ago, Microsoft announced that it would acquire the professional networking site, LinkedIn, for US$ 196 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at US$ 26.2 billion. In an e-mail to LinkedIn employees, LinkedIn CEO, Jeff Weiner, explained why he decided to sell the company to Microsoft. Weiner mentions Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s leadership…
Mary came to work on that cold winter’s morning in Johannesburg, South Africa, making use of the public transportation system as normal, but seemingly now with a spring in her step. Arriving with a broad grin and a warm greeting, she said: “Great day for work” (and really meant it). I smiled to myself as…
Turbulence in the economies of countries and in the financial arena in which business plays will never cease. What may have seemed a stable environment in which to plan future growth and corresponding budgets in the past, strategies that ensure predictable outcomes that give value to shareholders no longer exist. The best available research suggests…
In the turbulent environment in which businesses around the world are currently operating, organisational transformation has become imperative. No longer can outdated postal system providers be expecting growth year on year through mail deliveries – this is now largely handled electronically through e-mail and social networks. No longer can traditional banking exist entirely on its…
I took my grandchildren to the park yesterday – a shaded playground, well-appointed with an appropriate slide, jungle-gym, see-saw, swings and the favourite merry-go-round or “round-about”. All of the activities represent one or another challenge for little ones – the swing (how high can I go?), the jungle-gym (how daring can I be?), the slide…
For leaders of organisations and businesses alike, the period before drifting off to sleep, when the sub-conscious mind seems to be working overtime, could be the most important and significant “thought moment” of the day in terms of knowledge (business and relational acumen) required to grow their respective organisations. In the “hour of the owl”,…
I have been doing some work of late for a manufacturer, linked to the automotive industry. The senior management team are really great people – warm, kind and clever. Their outlook on the production personnel, however, is less than favourable – they “make excuses, shirk responsibility and somehow skirt accountability for issues that are less…
On a rainy night in Edwardian London, the opera patrons are waiting under the arches of Covent Gardens for cabs, when a little Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, runs into a young man called Freddy. She admonishes him for spilling her bunches of violets in the mud, but cheers up after selling one to an…
When at home, and particularly in the spring and summer months, we like taking the dogs for a walk in the evening – the day starting to cool and the wind hopefully dying and coming to rest, probably to regain its strength for its onslaught during the following day. We usually walk on a nearby…
