Tag Archives: incentives

A Theory and a Hammer: Managing with Incentives (Part I)

The wait time scandal, recently revealed in the Veterans Affairs Hospital (VAH) network in the U.S., is another indication of how difficult it can be to change large-scale, complex organizations. The VAH system has had a long roller-coaster history. It … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, Leadership, Strategy | Tagged incentives, scandal, VAH, Veterans Affairs, wait time | Comments Off on A Theory and a Hammer: Managing with Incentives (Part I)

Bain or Bane? Private-Equity and Creative Destruction

With Mitt Romney now the inevitable Republican Presidential candidate, renewed attention is being focused on his incredibly lucrative years running Bain Capital. In that private-equity firm he and his colleagues played key roles, mostly as the turnaround managers of mature … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General | Tagged American economy, Anglo-Saxon capitalism, Bain, complex systems, creative destruction, ecological perspective, forest renewal, incentives, innovation, Mitt Romney, neoclassical economics, Obama, predator, private-equity, scavenger, shareholders, tax policy, The Economist, venture capital | Comments Off on Bain or Bane? Private-Equity and Creative Destruction

When Means Become Ends: Have our institutions lost their sense of purpose?

Forty years ago going to business school in the Western World, with a view to becoming a manager, was seen as an honorable endeavor. Back then we believed that management was a calling; a practice that had the potential to become … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General | Tagged business schools, conflict of interest, ecological mental model, Friedrich Hayek, incentives, markets, means and ends, measurement, muppets, purpose, shareholder value model | Comments Off on When Means Become Ends: Have our institutions lost their sense of purpose?