Category Archives: Strategy
Hiring and Acquiring – Two Sides of the Same Coin?
It is hard to imagine two organisational activities that result in more high profile, costly failures and reputational damage than corporate acquisitions and senior level recruitment (although culture change probably comes close). Situations where high hopes and strong rationale underpinning an acquisition or senior level hire can quickly give way to the realisation that a big mistake has been made are all too common. At first glance they may not seem to be too similar; yet both activities share some of the same fundamental problems and issues. Given that failure in these activities is hugely damaging to businesses, isn’t it time businesses changed their approach to hiring and acquiring? Continue reading
3 Barriers to Adaptability and Change
There are 3 core barriers to adaptability and change. 1. Prioritising Short Term Profits 2. Short Term Thinking 3. An Addiction to Core Revenue Streams. By applying these 3 barriers to Nokia, Blackberry, Blockbuster, Kodak and others, it’s possible to see how each organisation struggled to meet oncoming changes and competitive threats to their businesses. Continue reading
Thinking about a ‘Physics of People’
Further to Stowe’s piece Socialogy and a Scientifically-Grounded Understanding of People and his Physics of People tag, I’ve been thinking about other people’s thoughts and ideas on the subject. What does the idea of a ‘Physics of People’ consist of and how it might take shape? The following extracts and quotes chart the thinking and writing on the subject over the past ten years or so. Continue reading
Socialogy and a Scientifically-Grounded Understanding of People
A scientifically-grounded understanding of people, such as 4G, has the potential to change business in hugely profound ways, perhaps on a scale comparable to the industrial revolution, the introduction of the PC or the rise of the internet. Such a statement is naturally loaded with many assumptions and implications, so it’s worth exploring both in further detail… Continue reading
The Hidden Cost of Collaboration
If we assume that the hidden cost of collaboration amounts to 10% of people’s working week, then this suggests significant improvements in performance and engagement can be realised through better collaboration. Equally, the 10% figure isn’t too far out of line given that other research suggests that 10 – 40% of people’s performance is based on the quality of their relationships. Continue reading
Leadership and Relationships – The Importance of Fit
HRVendornews (here), highlights a new survey from Right Management and Chally Group that reports some interesting findings about the causes of corporate leadership failure. Among the more eye-catching figures are: “Failure to build a team or relationships was singled out … Continue reading
Rebooting HR
Over at MiX, (here), Luc Galoppin posted an excellent blog that succinctly summarises some of the inherent problems and contradictions present in most HR departments. These can be summarised by HR’s ongoing desire for a seat at the top table … Continue reading
Leadership, Intangibles and Talent Review Q4 2010
Welcome to the final round-up of 2010. In this issue we have brought together an assortment of provocative articles focusing on; Complexity Training Systems Thinking Being Counter-Intuitive Innovation Conclusion Featured in this issue are articles from: Steven Johnson, John Hagel, … Continue reading
Social Cognition Research Initiative
Stowe Boyd is starting a long-range research initiative into Social Cognition. The main thrust seems to be around; Clarifying the elements of social cognition like learning, performance, decision making, affiliation, sense making, and others. Assimilating research from anthropology, sociology, cognitive science, linguistics, … Continue reading
