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Management Research Doesn’t Change… Until It Does
I have argued before that management scholarship doesn’t change very quickly. I have made the point that research articles that are decades old still offer a great deal of value. That was all well and good until I tried to find pre-reading in preparation for a strategic planning workshop that I would be facilitating. I came across a great article, one that was really relevant in shaping the thinking of my proposed audience, until I read it in more detail. And had to dismiss it as being too old. Understanding why that was true took some thinking.
Continue Reading Management Research Doesn’t Change… Until It Does
Reflections and Intentions
Where did the year go? It seems just last week that I was outlining my plans for 2022, and here we are at the beginning of 2023. It has been a year of ups and downs. I have had a number of successes that I’m proud of. I’ve also had some hope-for outcomes fail to materialize, and some unexpected distractions along the way. Overall, however, it has been as good a year as was possible under the circumstances. And I’m very much looking forward to this next one.
Dealing With the Reality of Strong Mayors
Whether we are ready or not, strong mayor powers now exist in the province of Ontario. Whether they are used is an open question. What they mean, and their potential consequences, is much clearer.
The Ideology of Process
I’ve written a lot about process. I’ve spent a lot of time sharing what good and bad process looks like, and advocating for better process over best process. What I’ve not focused on—which is an interesting oversight—is the mindset and personality of the people who actually build process for a living. This is important, because it goes a long way to explaining why we get the kinds of processes that we do. And what needs to change if we want to get processes that truly work.
Culture is Hard to Build, But Easy to Destroy
Many of us are watching the unfolding drama that is the real-time disintegration of Twitter, as both platform and organization. It is a spectacular example of culture being destroyed after a change in leadership. While Twitter is cultural destruction on a very large scale, the same challenges play out in organizations all the time, particularly as leadership changes. Culture is hard to build and easy to destroy. How do you recover from a cultural stumble?
Continue Reading Culture is Hard to Build, But Easy to Destroy
Webinars, resources and events that challenge you to think and encourage you to grow.
Next Webinar: Deconstructing Design Thinking
24 January 2023 “Design Thinking” is a term that is well on its way to being ensconced as buzzword. The challenge with that is both that it is taken for granted as a term, and it runs the risk of not really being understood. A natural consequence is that while the term gets applied broadly…
Continue Reading Next Webinar: Deconstructing Design Thinking
Next Webinar: Taking a Read on 2022
9 January 2023 In 2012, we started a bit of a tradition here on the webinar. We closed off that year with a review of our favourite books that we read in the previous 12 months. Both Peter and I picked our top three books, and shared why we picked them and what we valued…
Next Webinar: Lessons (Almost) Learned
21 November 2022 Peter’s career started back in the dark ages before personal computers. For a decade, he worked in the confines of the corporate cubicle. In 1993, he turned down a CIO position and decided to strike out on his own as a professional speaker, writer and consultant. He’s currently winding down his career.…
Strategy Making: The Workshop
All too often what you care about gets displaced by urgent demands, changing circumstances and the expectations of others.
You shouldn’t have to compromise on your ambitions and dreams. You can define your own journey, and set a path that focuses on what matters most to you.
Strategy Making is a personal strategy workshop designed to help you to get clear on your intentions. It guides you in clarifying where you are, taking ownership of your future and defining the path to get there.
Go beyond the short-term focus of time management and just getting things done. Expand your thinking, clarify your priorities and learn the tools you need to make them a reality.