In 1871 Prussian Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke said (and I’m quoting the modern version), “No plan can survive first contact with the enemy.” And while the planning stakes in organisations are rarely life and death, I think the sentiment holds true. Yet people still develop elaborate plans to try and change...
Ambling towards the faculty club at Stanford University, Jim Stockdale paused to answer Jim Collins’ question, “Who didn’t make it out?” He answered, “The optimists”, continuing, “they were the ones who said, ‘We’re going to be out by Christmas.’ And Christmas would come and Christmas would go. Then they’d say, ‘We’re...
by Michel Hogan and David Finn* Ever wondered how, despite the best intentions of everyone involved, promises get broken? You thought the detail was nailed. Everyone was working hard to make it happen. Then bit by bit, things unravelled, and time ran out. What went wrong? What unpredictable forces undermined your...
First used in Bruce Schneier’s book Beyond Fear, “security theatre” means implementing measures that provide a veneer of security but do little or nothing to deliver it. Enter culture theatre. An activity that makes a splash or delivers a high while doing nothing meaningful to change how people do things. Genuine values are how...
As value accumulates or erodes in a brand, what and how you do things change. Is value building nicely? Do more of those things. That’s change. Eroding like the beach at high tide, stop or switch things around. Also change. Those changes with a small c happen endlessly and usually unnoticed....
Habits and rituals can look similar. They’re not, and I’ve focused on the habit side of things for too long. That changed when I read The Ritual Effect by Professor Michael Norton. Norton says, “One automates, the other animates”. Elaborating that “Habit is the what. It’s something we do. … We...
Nearly every week I see yet another story about a company embarking on a 'rebrand'. Accompanying the hype is a rush to discard what got them here in an attempt to downplay or erase the past. Which is a common symptom of how people try to change a brand. It’s a...
Do this.Start that.Add another idea.Layer a different process.All around is the quest for more. Bigger, different, shiny things to transport whatever you're doing to the next level or a new place.But is more the answer?Try this.Do less. Scale back and instead inspect what's happening now for places you can stop...
My first book called Between Making Money and World Peace is about finding your purpose and values.And while some of my thinking about how you do that and the role they play has evolved since I pulled it together. What remains true is most organisations sit somewhere between chasing profit...
During a recent lengthy morning commute, I listened to the Knowledge Project podcast, where host Shane Parrish interviewed Aaron Dignan. Aaron’s a coach and author of Brave New Work. There were a lot of good insights, and one in particular grabbed my attention.They were talking about how misusing compliance undermines...