In January I visited Johannesburg, South Africa to speak at the Academy of Management’s first-ever Africa Conference. The conference brought together leading organization and management scholars as well as social entrepreneurs, service providers and change agents interested in the many theoretical and practical problems presented in Africa. The continent is home to some of the world’s … More Profile of Change: Thulani Madondo
This is a terrific video from Jason Headley. It features Bill O’Connor, Founder of the Innovation Genome Project, and shows seven key questions that have driven innovation throughout history: What can we imagine? What can we look at differently? What can we use differently? What can we move? What can we interconnect? What can we alter? … More The Innovation of Innovation
One of the more popular topics among organization types is leadership development. Countless books, articles, conferences and training programs are focused on the subject, the abundance of which suggests that most people feel there is a perpetual gap between the behavior they want and what they get from those in roles designated as “leadership.” The … More Leadership . . . Development?
Why don’t we get the best out of people? It’s simple, really. Most “modern” corporations kill human capability the way we strip-mine and deplete the earth of natural resources. Think about it. We hire bright, ambitious, enthusiastic young people fresh out of the hope and idealism of school. We stick them in cubicles under fluorescent … More Getting the Best Out of People
Viktor Frankl addressing the Toronto Youth Corps in May 1972 Business has become incredibly sophisticated. We have phenomenal technology and analytical tools as well as proven frameworks and methodology. Our ability to use science and reason has taken a significant amount of guesswork out of decision-making. In addition, the number of college graduates in the … More I Want to Take You Higher
Innovation is a hot topic in the United States, especially now as we search for ways of igniting our economic engines. From business publications to the main stream press, legions of voices are elevating the attention brought to the subject. Based upon the research, it’s clear that innovation is a requirement of healthy, vibrant, … More The Call for Innovation . . . Part 1
“Thomas Alva Edison” by No machine readable author provided. Minivalley assumed (based on copyright claims). – No machine readable source provided. Own work assumed (based on copyright claims).. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons After struggling to develop a viable electric light-bulb for months and months, Thomas Edison was interviewed by a young … More The Joy of Failure
A friend of mine called the other day to share a story from the executive suite that made him dream of selling hot dogs on the streets of New York. I told him that it was not the first time I had heard the tale, especially in these days of our sputtering economy. I imagine … More The Trouble With Layoffs
Nicholas Kristof’s column in yesterday’s New York Times shared that the origins of political judgments may in part be the result of our fundamental personality type and even in the hard-wiring in our brains. While even the researchers agree there is more work to do to validate these findings, it is consistent with the growing body … More It’s All In Our Head
A marketing exec friend of mine gave me a call yesterday to catch up. After swapping stories about families and our current work, he finally asked after years of knowing me, “What exactly is change management anyway?” I had to think for a moment before answering him for a couple of reasons. First, because he’s miles away … More What Is Change Management Anyway?
Erik Van Slyke 