In the old days, the size of an organization was directly proportional to the volume of PowerPoint slides and presentations that it created. Fast forward to today and large, successful enterprises like Amazon are realizing the limitations of PowerPoint and other forms of one-way presentation. In fact, Jeff Bezos, the Founder and CEO of Amazon banned PowerPoints from executive meetings. [...]
Parkinson's Law states that "Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion". It epitomizes all that is negative about traditional management thinking. What if we were to replace the word "Work" with the word "Value"?[…]
In 1845, the American essayist and philosopher Henry David Thoreau ran an experiment. It was chronicled in his book “Walden”. He wanted to break away from what he characterized as “the mass of men lead(ing) lives of quiet desperation” – the proverbial “rat race” of the times. [...]
As Agile coaches and change agents, we often chat about what it takes for an Agile transformation to succeed and scale in an organization. At a macro level, culture change and management support are often cited as key enablers. Changing culture and management mindset takes a long time. If we were to look underneath that, what would we see at a micro level? At the level of each individual making up the culture of an organization? [...]
Pride is a double-edged sword. At it’s best, it leads to self-respect and camaraderie. At its worst, it harbors arrogance and segregation. Management especially is prone to the dark side of pride. As a traditional manager, I was rewarded for nerves of steel, grace under pressure and flawless execution. I often struggled with transparency of my thoughts and deeds when I didn’t have the answers. […]
When it rains, it pours! I’ve been so busy serving my clients that I’ve neglected one of my loves – writing. So, I’m going to run an experiment. Rather than write as if I’m running marathons, I’m going to start running sprints. “Starting in the Moment” will be a regular series of short, in-the-moment, from the trenches learnings and koans. [..]
Next Chapter Consulting 