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Monthly Archives: January 2013

Clayton Christensen at Davos: An Ecological Perspective on Innovation

Posted on January 29, 2013 by David

When interviewed at the 2013 World Economic Forum in Davos, Clayton Christensen discussed what he has called “The Capitalist Dilemma”. It goes like this: There are basically three kinds of innovation in the economy: empowering, sustaining and efficiency. Empowering (or … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General, Uncategorized | Tagged Anglo-Saxon capitalism, capital, capitalist dilemma, Carlota Perez, change, Clayton Christensen, community, complex systems, context, Davos, ecocycle, ecological perspective, ecology, ecosystem, efficiency, empowering, innovation, interest rates, IRR, machine metaphor, organic metaphor, ROCE, RONA, social traps, sustainability, sustaining, sweet zone, The New Ecology of Leadership, Tyler Cowen, unemployment | 3 Comments

Why Conscious Capitalism is Not a New Paradigm

Posted on January 22, 2013 by David

Last week I blogged about my exchange with Steve Denning about conscious capitalism and his claim that it is a “new paradigm” for management. This week I want to discuss the ecological perspective on conscious capitalism and why it is … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General | Tagged ba, complex systems, conscious capitalism, ecocycle, ecological perspective, edge of chaos, Gore-Tex, Merck, O'Toole, paradigm, Patagonia, sweet zone, Vogel, W.L. Gore & Associates, Whole Foods | Comments Off

False Wizards Part II: A Plague of Paradigms

Posted on January 15, 2013 by David

The English economist John Kay contends that the word “paradigm” is “the most overworked and abused term in the study of management.” I agree with him completely and must confess that I cringe every time I see the latest management … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General | Tagged Anglo-Saxon capitalism, Cadbury, change, community, complex systems, Costco, crisis, customer, employee, Forbes, Fry, goals, John Mackey, life cycle, Mary Parker Follett, Nonconformists, paradigm, power, principles, Quakers, reason, Robert E. Wood, Rowntree, scale, Sears, shareholder, Steve Denning, trust, values, W.L. Gore, Whole Foods | 2 Comments

False Wizards: Why I Don’t Believe in Management Gurus

Posted on January 8, 2013 by David

The late historian, Daniel Boorstin, once said, “Trying to plan for the future without a sense of the past is like trying to plant cut flowers.” That is, planners and managers (politicians too) should not try to replicate desirable organizational … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General, Leadership | Tagged abstraction, Amazon, Apple, both...and, cause-and-effect, change, Cisco, complex systems, context, Costco, cut flowers, Daniel Boorstin, democracy, ecocycle, ecological perspective, either/or, Fast Company, Fritz Roethlisberger, Juniper, management gurus, management principles, MBA, Microsoft, Middle East, paradigm, Polly La Barre, power, Salesforce, sweet zone, The New Ecology of Leadership, trust, verbal wands, Whole Foods, Zara | 3 Comments

New Year Resolutions: “What Do I Do Differently on Monday Morning?”

Posted on January 1, 2013 by David

New Year is a good time to discuss changing behavior. At this time of year there is lots of talk about new resolutions, “starting with clean slates” and “turning over new leaves”. Very little of this will turn into action. … Continue reading →