The future is about change; both dangerous discontinuity and positive permutation. The future is very complicated. The whole of it is greater than the sum of the parts – you can’t really understand it by simply looking at it’s individual parts. And, as American writer George Will said, “The future has a way of arriving [...]
Listen for a word: absolutely (and its kin: exactly, precisely, of course, no doubt, without question, totally, undoubtedly, clearly, utterly). How often do you hear it used in daily speech? Probably more than in the past. Why? People are longing for a sense of control in – a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world – [...]
You have had problems. You currently have problems and you will have problems. Our world has always been characterized by some degree of uncertainty and complexity, highlighted by encounters with volatility and ambiguity (VUCA). Today it's just more so. As these characteristics ebb, flow and intermingle in the circumstances of our lives they create problems; [...]
I can hear you thinking (those of you who know me), "What about BHAGs (big, hairy, audacious goals) and 'big thinking' and even 'big ideas' – you believe in those things?" True enough. Now, please read the title of the post again... "no more grandiose...". Grandiose. Grandiose means "impressive because of unnecessary largeness or grandeur." [...]
A dear friend and mentor once told me, “Being a manager is easy: you make decisions. If you make a bad decision, you correct it with another one. If you make too many bad decisions, you’re in the wrong job.” He later went on to explain that, “...how you see the issue determines how you’ll [...]
Steve Jobs' biographer, Walter Issacson, tells how when Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 the company was producing a "random array of computers computers and peripherals, including a dozen different versions of the Macintosh." After a frustrating series of what probably felt like a never ending march of product briefings, Jobs called for a stop. [...]
Have you noticed that things take time? Great things seem to take even longer. Nine months to get a child. Four years (+/-) to get a college education. Almost forever to gain wisdom. Our Western culture has different metrics. We want it now. Instant could be a little faster, if you please. Fast food. Speed [...]
Superficially, customer insight is "the collection, deployment and interpretation of information that allows a business to acquire, develop and retain their customers." "Superficially?" Yes. The pursuit of customer insight tends to generate a heavy investment in market research. And yet, relatively few businesses actually have customer insight (noun - the capacity to gain an accurate and deep intuitive understanding [...]
Recently, I reconnected with an old friend. A mutual friend had told me of the strife our friend had experienced over the past few years so I sought to look him up and check in. When I asked how he was doing he said, "Not much has changed. How about you?" We had a national [...]
In the movie, The Hunger Games, North America has been destroyed by some unknown apocalyptic event and the nation of Panem exists in its place. Pamen consists of a wealthy Capitol and twelve surrounding, poorer districts. As punishment for a previous rebellion against the Capitol, one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 [...]
