Articles
A new and unique alternative to the ‘discovery’ phase employed by consulting practices
This paper has not been written as an attack on [organisational] consulting practices, but it does make a strong case to suggest that some activities such as the cliché of ’30 graduates crawling over a company with their clipboards’ is now so ‘analogue’ as to be in the throes of redundancy. On a positive note […]
Why we remain committed and excited about the opportunities of Organisational Sensemaking TM
Timing, timing, timing! There has never been a better time to challenge the staid, outdated and outmoded forms of information gathering and dissemination in organisations, for which we offer a genuinely unique solution, based upon mimicking the science of sensemaking in the construction of our Organisational Sensemaking TM diagnostic. Throughout the world organisations have received […]
Still shuffling?
As someone who has experienced working in an office, working from home and hybrid working, I have no particular axe to grind about whether employees should return to the office or hold out for a more flexible working arrangement. Each way of working has its own advantages and disadvantages which have been detailed in many […]
Revolution in company culture
In her meticulous annual review of workplace trends, Jeanne Meister identifies mostly positive changes for employees in 2023 including more inclusive caring behaviour by companies and provision of schemes to support hybrid working, from collaboration to learning. On hybrid learning, Meister quotes Vincent Maurin, e-Academy lead at Arcelor Mittal, who says, “We are envisioning pop-up […]
Coping with the stagflation blues
The outlook in 2023 for the British economy and hence many British companies is grim. Stagflation, the combination of high inflation and persistent low growth, has returned to the UK. As Tony Danker, director-general of the CBI. puts it – “Britain is in stagflation—with rocketing inflation, negative growth, falling productivity and business investment.” Ian Stewart, […]
Sensemaking: enabling leaders to see into the future
‘Given that the commercial environment is awash with risk and uncertainty, few leaders will want to trust important resourcing and investment decisions to gut instinct. Indeed, risk management may be the top priority in times of crisis, but what if business leaders could avoid the crisis in the first place?’ The contention in this piece is […]
Dealing with the shrink
Every so often the Telegraph lets non-subscribers like me peek inside its paywall and see a fascinating article such as this one from Jeremy Warner on why companies are reticent about investing in Britain. Sadly, they’ve locked it away again so here’s a synopsis of the message. Warner offers a number of reasons behind this reticence with […]
Avoiding the threat of moral burnout
London Fire Brigade and the Metropolitan Police have been in the news recently for the wrong reasons . LFB has been identified as “institutionally misogynist(ic) and racist” by an independent review, but cases of discrimination, harassment and bullying are not unique to high pressure jobs such as Fire and Police. Nazir Afzal, former Chief Crown […]
England’s Manager Gareth Southgate stands on the brink of …… in the football World Cup (fill in the blank if you dare, – or care!)
Gareth Southgate embodies many of the qualities and characteristics that we would hope to find in contemporary leadership: setting stretch targets, providing support for his players and staff, an emphasis on great communication; and a healthy dose of humility and vulnerability. “As footballers we’re going to lose matches, we’re going to concede goals, but how […]