In the current state of double digit inflation and looming tax hikes for companies and their customers, it is even more important that companies retain a competitive edge. Having good products may not be enough when customers are being ever more cautious with their buying decisions. When 70% of consumers say a company is only […]

Life is lived forward but has to be understood backwards. That is to say, understanding follows action – and this is the conundrum for leaders who need an increasingly rapid understanding of ‘what’s the story here?’ (hindsight) in order to improvise plausible foresight. Using foresight rather than hindsight means leaders need to use all the […]

In a recent article, McKinsey set out the challenges facing CEOs in the current economic maelstrom – ‘Businesses need new approaches to build the resilience required in these decisive times, through a perceptive response to current challenges, foresight to anticipate the next round of disruptions, and capability for adaptation that will set the business on […]

It is not surprising that life altering and, in some cases life threatening, events such as the pandemic, global inflation and the new war in Europe are having profound effects on people in and out of work. What is surprising is the size of the gap in the understanding of these effects on well-being between […]

In a recent Raconteur article Sam Forsdick quotes Slack’s SVP Brian Elliot’s discourse on the post-pandemic competition to attract and retain talented people. Elliot suggests that the Zeitgeist of leaders who try to control the working environment for their people has passed and, effectively, there has been an enforced democratisation of what constitutes good working […]

Companies, whether in very competitive markets or in a leadership position in a new market, want to achieve operational excellence. The Institute for Operational Excellence defines it as “Each and every employee can see the flow of value to the customer, and fix that flow before it breaks down.” Implicit in this definition is the […]

We are in an inflationary period and it’s not surprising to see the economy heading for a recession. Higher prices and more cautious customers, coupled with an increasingly competitive market, makes the job of selling much more challenging. And as the world continues to change at a fast pace, it is critical for any business […]

The following illuminating extract is from a Chief Executive interview with Marc Benioff, founder and co-CEO of the behemoth SaaS firm, Salesforce, as he discusses its stellar success. He says a lot about business and organisational culture, but his answers also say a lot about organisational sensemaking and leadership. “You’re one of the few people […]

A sensemaking analysis (what’s the story here?) of Elon Musk’s approach to decision-making is marginalised to the hunger for a juicy Twitter feed, and yet it reveals an insight into the human condition that is often cloaked by the perceived need for conformity. ‘We have recently been granted a glimpse behind the curtain of how […]