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In the rush to cement thought-leader status we are churning out valueless definitions of digital transformation, organizational agility, change and more (all part of the same chess set but that’s another story). The definitions miss their mark for simple lack of context. The context that’s missing of course – the leadership and people within a target organization. When a C-level executive from North America goes to Japan for the first time they get coaching in social interactions e.g. greetings, the exchange of business cards and gifts. If you don’t have a background in high-context cultures, either native or expat experience, this sounds crazy. If you’re […]

Don’t get the title wrong, I’m not against big business in any sector, on any terms. They get a lot right and contribute immeasurable value in the way of goods, services, employment, R&D, social initiatives, and in extraordinary cases, customer delight. They do it all with a big targets on their backs, sometimes deserved, frequently not. The thing big organizations struggle with is simplicity. The digital transformation conversation is a perfect example. The public DX pitch is one of carefully choreographed impossible complexity where a select few claim dominance with big words, massive software investment and armies of consultants. In reality they struggle internally with […]

The title is cringeworthy. What could have felt like a teen-angst debacle on steroids was in reality, a non-issue. My father taught chemistry too, and was the only teacher in the school for both subjects. I was in his class for the duration of my junior and senior years. It worked because of him, not because of me. He had a great relationship with nearly all of the kids including those who never took his classes. While I can’t speak to the exact reasons why that all worked, I can easily pinpoint some primary reasons for his masterful leadership in the classroom.   Command of […]