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Category Archives: General

See-Feel-Smell-Change? Changing Behaviour Without Changing Minds Part II

Posted on August 13, 2013 by David

The essence of an ecological perspective on human behavior is that our minds are rational, but in an ecological way. That is we automatically take into account myriad aspects of our environment using all our senses and adjust our behavior … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General | Tagged Brunete, context, dog poo, dog poo fairy, ecological perspective, John Kotter, see-feel-change, Stockholm congestion charge | 1 Comment

The Counsel of Desirable Outcomes: Actions versus Achievements

Posted on August 6, 2013 by David

The bane of most, perhaps all, how-to books in management and business is what I call the “Counsel of Desirable Outcomes” – advice that sounds like action but really consists of achievements. Take a recent article in the Financial Times … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General | Tagged achievement verbs, action verbs, ecological perspective, Gilbert Ryle, inputs, outputs, productivity growth, PwC, RONA | 1 Comment

T-shaped People: Deduction, Induction, Abduction and Systems Thinking

Posted on July 30, 2013 by David

IDEO, the design and innovation firm, prizes what they call “T-shaped” individuals. These are people with a deep expertise in one field or domain (the vertical stroke of the “T”) and some expertise across several, often dissimilar, domains (the horizontal … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General, Leadership, Strategy | Tagged abduction, analogical, analytical, bottom-up, Charles Sanders Peirce, complex systems, creativity, deduction, ecological perspective, IDEO, induction, innovation, leveraged action, systems, T-shaped, thinking, top-down | Comments Off

Is Conscious Capitalism A Conceptual Mess?

Posted on July 23, 2013 by David

Conscious Capitalism (CC) is featured prominently in the latest issue of the California Management Review (CMR) (Spring 2013, Vol. 55 No. 3.). In an article entitled “Conscious Capitalism Firms: Do They Behave as Their Proponents Say?”, Chong Wang, an Assistant … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General, Leadership, Strategy | Tagged Anglo-Saxon capitalism, Aristotle, Chong Wang, complex systems, conscious capitalism, ecological perspective, innovation, Karl Popper, Max Weber, narrative, Raj Sisodia, The New Ecology of Leadership, Whole Foods | 1 Comment

Complexity and the Plexus Institute: The Critical Role of Intuition in Action and Thought

Posted on July 16, 2013 by David

Last Friday I took part in an online discussion of The New Ecology of Leadership arranged by The Plexus Institute. The institute describes itself as “an intertwined community of diverse people–scientists, business executives, nurses, artists, teachers, journalists, researchers, physicians, college … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged Dan Sperber, ecological rationality, Felix Ankel, Ger Gigerenzer, Hugo Mercier, intuition, Jonathan Haidt, paradigm, plexus, Plexus Institute, principles, rationalist illusion, The New Ecology of Leadership, wicked problems | Comments Off

Lessons from Another Wildfire Tragedy: Nature Bats Last

Posted on July 2, 2013 by David

The tragic death over the weekend of nineteen firefighters fighting a fierce wildfire in defence of the town of Yarnell, Arizona is a reminder of the perils of building structures on top of processes. This week’s blog is based on … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General | Tagged Arizona, change, chaparral, community, lodgepole pine, process, San Diego, Santa Ana, structure, wildfire, Yarnell | 1 Comment

Decommoditize Yourself! – Coating Products in Meaning

Posted on June 4, 2013 by David

Last week I travelled to Phoenix, Arizona to attend the annual meeting of Electro-Federation Canada and to deliver the opening keynote address. The association works with the electrical, consumer electronics and telecommunications industries and its membership consists of manufacturers and … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General, Leadership, Strategy | Tagged A.G. Lafely, Anglo-Saxon capitalism, change, commoditization, community, context, cult, David Brooks, Dom Perignon, ecological perspective, ecosystem, Electro-Federation Canada, Ferrari, identity, meaning, narrative, niche, P&G, product life cycle | 1 Comment

Trends in Executive Education from the Baltic Management Development Association

Posted on May 28, 2013 by David

One of the most pleasant events on my recent trip to Lithuania was catching up with Dr. Peter Lorange, who I last met in Toronto over twenty years ago. He has been a pioneer in the field of management and … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General | Tagged axiom, Babson College, BMDA, change, executive education, Executive MBA, Fachhochschule, IMD, Kaunas, Lithuania, Lorange Institute of Business, Peter Lorange, Piaget, shipping, teaching, Wilhelm von Humboldt | 1 Comment

HBR Blog: The Mongrel Discipline of Management

Posted on May 21, 2013 by David

A few days ago this blog of mine got published on the HBR Blog Network where it is attracting a good deal of comment. You can read it in situ as well as the comments here (as well as see the … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General | Tagged change, discipline, ecological rationality, logic, management, means and ends, mongrel, participant, rationality, spectator | 1 Comment

Return to Canada: the Baltic Management Development Association Part I

Posted on May 14, 2013 by David

I returned to Canada over the weekend from Lithuania via London, where I “perched” over night before taking the afternoon Air Canada flight from Heathrow to Toronto. The highlight of the past week was my trip to Kaunas, Lithuania to … Continue reading →