Tag Archives: context

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Disrupting Disruption Theory (Part II) – Ecological Transformation

This blog is a continuation of last week’s in which I discussed Jill Lepore’s mostly off-target criticisms of HBS professor Clayton Christensen’s theory of disruptive innovation. There I said that my concern with Christensen’s work was his tendency to rely … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General | Tagged adaptive cycle, Clayton Christensen, context, creativity, destruction, disruption, ecological perspective, ecology, Gunderson, Holling, Jill Lepore, machine, New Brunswick, panarchy, spruce budworm | Comments Off on Disrupting Disruption Theory (Part II) – Ecological Transformation

A Theory and a Hammer: Managing With Incentives (Part II)

I spent the past week teaching a leadership class at the Kenneth Levene Graduate School of Business at the University of Regina. At the same time my HBR blog “Is Management Due For a Renaissance” has been attracting continuing comment … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, Leadership, Strategy | Tagged Alfie Kohn, change, complex systems, context, creativity, Jack Welch, means and ends, Peter Drucker, purpose, Sears Roebuck, Steve Denning, telos | Comments Off on A Theory and a Hammer: Managing With Incentives (Part II)

Renewing Rome Part III: The Future is the Means – the Present is the End

Last week I took an ecological perspective on Pope Francis and his efforts to renew the Roman Catholic Church (RCC). His chosen role of prophet (rather than the other two religious offices of priest and king) is to bring passion … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General, Leadership | Tagged analogy, bureaucracy, change, community, context, ecocycle, Fritz Roethlisberger, leadership, metaphor, narrative, Pope Francis, renewal, Roman Catholic Church | Comments Off on Renewing Rome Part III: The Future is the Means – the Present is the End

Harvard Business School: The Reality Show?

A fascinating front-page article in the New York Times reported on Harvard Business School’s attempt to achieve “gender equity”. HBS has had problems attracting and retaining female faculty. They comprise 22% of the faculty and the “pipeline” that leads to tenure … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General, Leadership, Uncategorized | Tagged change, complex systems, context, ecocycle, ecological perspective, ecological rationality, gender equity, Harvard Business School, Jonathan Haidt, leadership, means and ends, New York Times, power, Rakesh Khurana, reality television, The New Ecology of Leadership | 1 Comment

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

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

Principles and Paradigms: The Debate Continues

Steve Denning, with whom I have jousted in the columns of Forbes, about the nature of management paradigms, recent wrote a blog in HBR in the series leading up to the fifth annual Global Peter Drucker Forum on November 2013 … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, Leadership, Strategy | Tagged Anna Karenina, change, community, complex systems, context, discipline, ecological perspective, embodied cognition, equifinality, Fighting Power, freedom, heuristic, implementation, Ludwig von Bertalanffy, Mary Parker Follett, obligations, paradigm, Peter Drucker, practical wisdom, principle, rights, self-discipline, Steve Denning, systems, Tolstoy, van Creveld | 1 Comment

Decommoditize Yourself! – Coating Products in Meaning

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

In and Around London: A Trip to the Theatre

It’s been a great middle week of my trip to the UK and Europe. I had an excellent reception for the ecological perspectives from The New Ecology of Leadership in all the places I visited. In Nottingham about 50 people … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General | Tagged Canada House, Canada-UK Chamber of Commerce, change, community, context, ecocycle, ecological perspective, emotion and reason, Henry Goodman, Macdonald House, narrative, Nottingham, Old Vic, Raleigh Bicycle, Rattigan, Square Peg International, Sturmey-Archer, The New Ecology of Leadership, The Winslow Boy, theatre | Comments Off on In and Around London: A Trip to the Theatre

Don’t Throw the Past Away

The study of business history in North American business schools has been on the wane for some time now, crowded out by “more practical”, “hard” topics. History is seen as nice, rather than necessary. But if contexts matter in management, … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General, Leadership, Strategy | Tagged anagnorisis, Andreas Kluth, change, context, disaster, German General Staff, Hannibal and Me, history, means and ends, narrative, Rudyard Kipling, staff ride, strategy.competency, The Economist, triumph | Comments Off on Don’t Throw the Past Away

When Metrics Become Targets Part II: Wicked Problems

Last week I wrote about the cheating scandal in the Atlanta schools and the charging of 35 teachers and administrators with racketeering. The incident has created a furor in Atlanta over the charges themselves and the amount of bail initially … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General, Leadership | Tagged Atlanta schools, change, cheating, complex systems, context, ecological perspective, Finnish schools, Laurence J. Peter, means and ends, Peter Principle, Rittel, standardized testing, sweet zone, Toyota Production System, Webber, wicked problems | Comments Off on When Metrics Become Targets Part II: Wicked Problems ← Older posts Newer posts →