The Complexity Equation
Charles Dickens in the 1830’s wrote that he lived in an age of “unrelenting change and unpredictability” so I wonder what he would make of our current scenario…
Behavioural Science?
Conventional wisdom amongst those running organizations would agree that there is value in good service. An abundance of literature exists supporting the notion…
Lean Times
During the past 20 years, Lean has become one of the prominent performance-improvement programs adopted by companies around the world. Recently, organizations as…
Caution, Learners Ahead
It’s a fact and contrary to certain prejudices and misconceptions, employees can learn to behave in new ways. However, people learn only if they are motivated…
Engaging Conversations
Organizations care about employee engagement because the facts would suggest that it directly impacts their bottom line. Don’t believe us? Well recent and consistent…
Changes
‘Changes’ is a song by David Bowie, originally released on the album Hunky Dory in December 1971 and as a single on 7 January 1972, the day before Bowie’s…
Insanity Check
In our daily interactions with clients, we encounter many different leaders in all disciplines and generally these individuals are very determined people. They are…
Moments of Truth
Customers have never had higher expectations – or been more empowered than they are today. How you respond to, and take care of, your customers across all of their…
Coping with Complexity
The general view on complexity is that it is a bad thing and that simplification will bring value by removing unnecessary costs. Here at Optimize we are Lean Practitioners…
Me, Myself and I
In business, the secret to effectively leading collaboration with others is finding a middle ground between too much and too little team think, where leaders encourage,…
Wood for the Trees
A famous line from Alice in Wonderland is “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there” and here at Optimize we think it’s pretty…
Pudding Politics
As the festive season’s ultimate celebration looms large in the form of the mighty Christmas dinner we would like to provide a few paragraphs to honour the Christmas…
The Thinking Persons' Olympics
As Calgary debates making a bid for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, as mere mortals we can only guess at the dedication, athleticism, sacrifices and mental fortitude…
Plus Ca Change
Plus ca change is the term often used to express the resigned acknowledgement of the fundamental immutability of human nature – “the more things change, the…
Last Minute Larceny
Leaving things to the last minute is a recipe for disaster and on the way causes stress, anxiety and a series of corners that have been cut. Quality suffers and…
The Blame Game
Blame is an interesting concept and often confused with accountability. We find leaders conceptually accepting that mistakes are a learning opportunity but in the…
There's No 'I' in Team
….but of course if you look closely you will find the word ‘me’. Here at Zeitgeist we do a lot of work with building high performing teams and of course many…
An Excessive Need to be Me
Few things can discredit a leader faster than being perceived as phony. Sometimes, leaders will say what they don’t believe or they sugarcoat the truth so people…
Alone Again
Astronaut Al Worden was once proclaimed the “most isolated human being”. Let us explain. Al Worden was one of seven men that undertook the role of Apollo command…
Cyber Sense
DEF CON is the catchy title of a security conference held in Las Vegas every year and unlike other security conferences, DEF CON is more for those on the bleeding…