Shake it Up
Few senior leaders when making important strategic decisions consciously consider their cognitive biases. These systematic tendencies to deviate from rational calculations…
Busy Fools?
We are always told that the world is a much busier place these days and we certainly encounter people every day that tell us that they are “really, really busy”.…
Smarter than the Average Bear
In the current climate there appears to be a dearth of critical thinking. Perhaps because Google has made it easy for us to be lazy in our thinking – just type…
Fire When Ready
The real problem with poor performing employees is us. If you want to feel better about yourself we will concede that on rare occasions and for a small percentage…
Drawing the Line
One well-established principle of organization should always be followed and that is that accountability, responsibility and authority must go hand in hand. No position…
Leaving Change to Chance
It still surprises us just how many organizations leave change to chance or at best provide a couple of hours training in a workshop to prepare their leaders to…
It's All About Attitiude
Providing outstanding customer service is one of the most rewarding yet challenging activities within any organization. Exceptional organizations that provide outstanding…
Functional Dysfunction
Many organizations have invested huge amounts in customer relationship management (CRM) applications and these investments have generated a wide range of outcomes…
I Have Seen the Future
Creating the future rather than predicting it requires moving from managing the probable to leading the possible and requires us to address challenges in a fundamentally…
Building a Winning CRM Strategy
“Getting the right product, to the right customer, at the right time, via the right channel at the right price supported by excellent customer service” is the…
Last Minute Larceny
Leaving things to the last minute is a recipe for disaster and it causes stress, anxiety and often a series of corners have been cut. Quality suffers and often there…
No Place for Pyromaniacs
Putting out fires is very rewarding. It’s gratifying and provides instant validation for our efforts. This is apparently why people seem to like fires in business…
Risk Versus Reward
Trying to avoid all risk in business is the same as trying to avoid all opportunity. Simply reacting to risk, meanwhile, is just crisis management: shutting the…
Why Your Boss Is Wrong About You
As the performance review season comes to its usually unsatisfactory conclusion for many, we thought we would share our thoughts on why many performance review systems…
Finding Fault
In business we often come across cultures where blame is accepted or is even the norm. We like to mention one of our favourite terms – ‘blame-storming’. This…
Blue Monday
Blue Monday is the name given to this day in January (typically the third Monday of the month) claimed to be the most depressing day of the year. The concept was…
Service Means Service
Good customer service is a valuable asset, especially in today’s high-tech-oriented, increasingly impersonal business world. Therefore, if you are aware of…
Talking Transformation
Individuals, organizations change continuously, reacting to developments in their markets and to the arrival and departure of key people. In a large company, these…
Vive la Révolution
The Fourth Industrial Revolution, commonly known as Industry 4.0, appears to be changing the way businesses function. Organizations must decide how and where to…
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…