Tag Archives: Anglo-Saxon capitalism

← Older posts

Social Renewal: The Story of the Quakers and the First Industrial Revolution

“Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained . . . infancy is perpetual. Those … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General | Tagged Anglo-Saxon capitalism, community, context, destruction, ecological perspective, fission-fusion, innovation, meaning, narrative, Quakers, renewal | Comments Off on Social Renewal: The Story of the Quakers and the First Industrial Revolution

Milton Friedman’s Philosophy: Invaluable at First but Deadly Afterward

2020 marks the 50th  anniversary of Chicago economist Milton Friedman’s famous (or infamous, depending on your point-of-view) claim that the only social purpose of business is to increase profits. This doctrine proved immensely popular among corporate managers but has been … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General | Tagged Anglo-Saxon capitalism, argumentative theory of reason, Ayn Rand, change, complex systems, conglomerates, ecological perspective, Henry Mintzberg, innovation, leveraged buyouts, Milton Friedman, University of Chicago, Walter Bagehot | Comments Off on Milton Friedman’s Philosophy: Invaluable at First but Deadly Afterward

The Ecology of a Social Movement: The Quakers and Social Reform – Public Talk RSA London December 7 2018

On Friday December 7 2018 I will be at the RSA’s Rawthmell’s Café 8 John Adam Street, London, speaking on the Ecology of a Social Movement, using the Quakers of the First Industrial Revolution as my example. They were an astonishing … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General, Leadership | Tagged Anglo-Saxon capitalism, change, community, complex systems, ecocycle, ecological perspective, ecological rationality, innovation, leadership, narrative, Quakers, renewal, social change, social reform | Comments Off on The Ecology of a Social Movement: The Quakers and Social Reform – Public Talk RSA London December 7 2018

Renewing the American Republic: The Ecodynamics of Donald Trump Part II

In the early hours of Wednesday November 9 2016 I was as bemused as everyone else. Donald Trump had won the presidential election and would be the 45th President of the United States. The last polls I saw had given … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, Leadership, Strategy | Tagged Anglo-Saxon capitalism, capitalism, change, community, complex systems, democracy, Donald Trump, ecocycle, ecological perspective, Hillary Clinton, Lawrence Lessig, lobbyists, Mancur Olson, narrative, NRA, power trap | Comments Off on Renewing the American Republic: The Ecodynamics of Donald Trump Part II

Brexit: Crisis and Opportunity for Britain and the EU – a Systems Perspective

“In a multi-layered complex system stability is achieved by having the big and/or slow processes govern through constraint the smaller, faster processes. Sudden change can take place in a complex system when agents at one level escape the constraints usually … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General | Tagged American government, Anglo-Saxon capitalism, complex systems, crisis, David Cameron, destruction, directdemocracy, ecological perspective, Founding Fathers, Great Britain, James Madison, Jeremy Corbyn, Little England, means and ends, Nigel Farage, renewal, representative democracy, rule by experts, rule by faction, Senate, Tony Judt | Comments Off on Brexit: Crisis and Opportunity for Britain and the EU – a Systems Perspective

Changing Our Models of Change: Nothing Lasts Unless It Is Incessantly Renewed”

In a blog last year, Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of the Royal Society of the Arts wrote “Ideas about social and economic reform are only as useful as the model of change that goes with them.” I agree completely. We … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General | Tagged Anglo-Saxon capitalism, blueprints, change, complex systems, ecocycle, ecological perspective, efficiency, engineering, Jonathan Haidt, Kurt Lewin, Matthew Taylor, narrative, objectivity, passion, power, reason, roadmap, RSA, servants of power, shareholder value, trust, unfreeze-change-refreeze | Comments Off on Changing Our Models of Change: Nothing Lasts Unless It Is Incessantly Renewed”

Capitalism as an Ecological Process

On April 2 The Economist published a book review of Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Corporations, a 700-page manual on corporate finance and shareholder value published by McKinsey & Company. The views in both the book and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General | Tagged Andy Haldane, Anglo-Saxon capitalism, Bank of England, Cartesian Management, community, complex systems, context, ecocycle, ecological perspective, innovation, management principles, McKinsey, shareholder value model, Valuation | Comments Off on Capitalism as an Ecological Process

Pope Francis and the Environment – Transformational Leadership in Action

A version of this post appeared earlier this year in the blog of the Drucker Society of Europe: To students of management Pope Francis is a fascinating study in leadership and organizational change. From his surprise election as an outsider, … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General, Leadership, Uncategorized | Tagged Anglo-Saxon capitalism, business schools, crisis, culture, ecology, environment, externalities, faith, GNP, instrumental rationality, modernism, one-dimensional paradigm, Peter Drucker, Pope Francis, power, reason, Roman Catholic Church, science, social and moral development, transformational leadership | Comments Off on Pope Francis and the Environment – Transformational Leadership in Action

The VW Debacle: How Large Successful Organizations and Institutions Can Become “Bad Barrels” And What To Do About It

The outlines of Volkswagen’s comprehensive program to defeat national auto emissions laws are becoming clearer. According to the New York Times the company began installing software designed to cheat on emissions test in 2008, when they realized that their new … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General, Leadership, Strategy | Tagged Alex Gorsky, Anglo-Saxon capitalism, Aristotle, change, complex systems, context, creativity, crisis, destruction, diesel emissions, ecological perspective, efficient cause, General Motors, gun control, hip joints, ignition locks, J&J, Johnson & Johnson, material cause, means and ends, Risperdal, shareholder value, Volkswagen debacle, Winterkorn | 1 Comment

To Kill a Zombie: Ending Shareholder Primacy

The theme of the Drucker Forum to be held in Vienna November 13-14 this year is “The Great Transformation: Managing Our Way to Prosperity”. In the run-up to it Simon Caulkin wrote a mainly excellent article in the Financial Times … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General | Tagged addiction dynamic, Anglo-Saxon capitalism, change, complex systems, crisis, Drucker Forum, Financial Times, Global Drucker Forum, Lynn Stout, shareholder value, Simon Caulkin, The Great Transformation, Upton Sinclair, vampire, zombie | Comments Off on To Kill a Zombie: Ending Shareholder Primacy ← Older posts