Carlsons Law of Innovation
On recently reading Thomas Friedmans latest book “That Used to be Us” I came across an interesting take on innovation – Carlsons Law of Innovation. Now every company on this planet seems to want to innovate – so this was of interest.
Carlsons Law of Innovation states “Innovation that happens from the top down tends to be orderly but dumb. Innovation that happens from the bottom up tends to be chaotic but smart.”
Curtis Carlson is the CEO of SRI International, a company which serves as an innovation factory for organisations ranging from governements to multinational companies. His is an innovation hot house. What Carlson’s laws implies is that if you try and impose innovation on a company as the CEO or as one of the senior managers, you will be indeed receive innovation in return. However, the innovation that happens often tends to be what the CEO would like to hear and see as opposed to what the organisation actually needs.
Onward – How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul
I’ve just read a wonderful book co-authored by Howard Schultz, ceo of Starbucks, entitled Onward. For those of you who don’t know, Schultz was the iconic leader of Starbucks who retired in 2000, to become non-executive chairman, only to sense that in 2007 all was not well with the iconic coffee brand.
He returned as ceo to Starbucks in the beginning of 2008 and set about revitalising the company at the height of the first recessionary wave. In his book, there are 4 particular observations about growing companies that struck me:
Risky Business – William D Cohan
With Europe on the verge of a financial meltdown and many of Wall Street’s biggest banks trading at or near their 52-week lows and at a fraction of their book value — take for instance, Goldman Sachs, which is trading at about 75 percent of its book value, staring down a rare quarterly loss, cutting compensation, and firing thousands of employees — is it possible that the turmoil in the global financial markets is finally accomplishing what regulators the world over have not been willing or able to do: force these financial beasts to rein in their excessive risk-taking and act more like the dull, boring utilities we need them to be for our own safety?
What Makes Apple Apple – Gary Hamel
The following is an excerpt from Gary Hamel’s forthcoming book, What Matters Now, to be published in December 2011 by Jossey-Bass Business.
Honeybees and Locusts – A Precis
Honeybees and Locusts
A business case for Sustainable Leadership
Bee colonies consist of a queen and many specialists, such as drones and foraging workers. Under ideal conditions, a colony of honeybees can produce more than 90kg of surplus honey a year. However, the bee’s most significant contribution is pollinating plants that affect about one third of the human diet and much of what animals and insects eat. Without bees our lives would be impoverished by a general lack of fruits, vegetables, flowers and other plants. Honeybees are essential for maintaining a large part of the ecosystem. The honeybee is not only productive, but is a symbol of cooperation, thrift, diligence forethought and healing, and stings only for defence purposes.
Is China raping Africa?
Over the last decade, China has rapidly increased its economic ties with Africa through enormous investment in infrastructure development, textiles, mining and oil. According to the Chinese government, two way trade between Africa and China has surpassed over US $114 Billion. With such vast quantities of money at play, it is not hard to imagine how easily seduced governments, businesses and individuals are by the finances China brings into play.
The question that needs to be asked however, is if China is raping Africa? The short answer, paradoxically, is both Yes and No.
Are You Swimming Naked?
‘When the tide goes out, you soon discover who has been swimming naked’ – Warren Buffet
Many professionals I encounter find it incredibly hard to be anything but short term in their thinking. Whether it is their short term survival, short term gains or seizing of short term opportunities, these individuals and their organisations seem so focused on the immediate future that they are unable to make the appropriate provision for the medium and long term as well.
In the professional sense, making the appropriate provision for the medium and long term means looking thoroughly at a myriad different factors such as whether you are investing in the right people, skills, markets and technology to name but a few. Sadly, it appears as though the consumption culture and need for instant gratification has reduced our thinking to very short term uncertainty.
Trade Unions must move into the 21st Century
Trade unions were initially set up to look after the interests of people who were lumped together into a trade. It has now grown to represent people who work in a common industry. Unions originally wanted to protect the workers rights amidst the mindset of shareholder return, thus unions grew and were effective in that.
Although there is still a place for employees, semi skilled and even unskilled labour to be represented by trade unions, both the workers and the leaders need to understand that we are no longer in the industrial age, but rather in a new age with new rules. The old rules simply don’t work anymore and trade unions aligned with the old mindset are, ironically, the biggest handbrake to job creation in this country.
Are you Practically Radical?
“Companies must remake themselves into places of engagement, where people are committed to one another and their enterprise.’ – Henry Mintzberg
How many times have you seen or been part of a team that is led by somebody who tries to create competitive differentiation by exhorting their team to perform at extraordinary levels? Perhaps you have even been that leader yourself, pushing your troops to add value and be innovative yet doing nothing to provide a working environment with the same level of value, differentiation and satisfaction in return. In the mindset of ‘old think’ organisations this is a common occurrence, however in the new world of work this type of behaviour is becoming less and less tolerated.
Too Big to Fail – An Infographic
One of my top reads over the past year has without a doubt been Andrew Ross Sorkin’s ‘Too Big to Fail’ which details the tipping point of the global markets into recession. The book is, however, much more than just a factual account of the demise of Wall Street powerhouses as it gives an inside look into the mentality of what drives many of the top financial organisations and CEO’s of today – Unfortunately greed seems to be the primary motive. A few months back I put out another post asking Who is accountable for the Global Recession in lieu of a damning Rolling Stone article I read. Below is another piece of collateral centered around the 2008 Financial Crisis, the results of which we are still struggling to deal with today…
Murdoch’s Lack of Honor
In the constant shift towards global transparency, Rupert Murdoch and his News Corporation media empire is the latest victim. Having undergone questioning into the phone-hacking scandal that has recently shook the British public, Murdoch is the latest in a series of CEOs who have become the center of their own news. Yet what does this say of Murdoch’s decades long reign as a media kingpin and his behaviour and actions necessary to achieve this? Roasbeth Kanter from the Harvard Business Review analyses Murdoch’s situation in relation to honorable business practice in the long run.
Have You seen the New Workstyle?
New technologies have supplied us with a bevy of tools to become more agile workers. We’ve changed the way we do business. We’re critical of how we work, how we communicate, and how we collaborate. The new workstyle is more efficient, more productive, and more fun…
How Can IT Organisations Adapt?
Dell VP James Franklin talks with Gary Hamel about how IT organizations must change in a more collaborative ecosystem.
The Problem with Management
Have you ever moaned about your management? This interesting talk features London Business School Professor of Strategic and International Management, Julian Birkinshaw, explaining why the industrial age mindset of management is failing us…
Who is Accountable for the Global Recession?
I have been following and researching the wall street crash and subsequent economic recession for the last 18 months. Having read such interesting books as Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin and Freefall by Joseph Stiglitz has shattered any delusions I have had about how financial systems and institutions truly operate. Large organisations such as Goldman Sachs seem to have zero ethical boundaries as to conducting business, rather focusing on how much money they can make at any cost. As the reasons and responsibilites behind this massive global recession become more apparent, it will be interesting to see where the blame is placed and which organisatiosn and individuals are left accountable. This article by Matt Taibbi from Rolling Stone reasons that it is the leaders behind the megalithic financial institutions who should be brought to justice. Definitely worth a read: The People vs. Goldman Sachs
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