Thinking
We write about disruption and value. Enter your e-mail address to receive Uncharted, our no-nonsense editorial. Read past editions.
Finding Value Beyond the Disruption of COVID-19
Economic slowdown and widespread uncertainty will test every business after this first wave of COVID. Only through imagination and persistence will senior teams limit financial risks and answer the emerging demands of employees, customers, and society.
Hope Is Not a Plan
Disruption in the economy and society caused by COVID-19 will force companies to rethink their business models, corporate strategies, and day-to-day operations. Teams can navigate this punishing ground by making plans for wildly untameable outcomes.
New Technology, Old Thinking
A sustainable future requires a fresh approach to business, and soon. But new infrastructure and systems alone do not make for a sustainable company. Alongside physical assets sits culture. Change fails when leaders do not account for the hidden influences in how people work.
The Promise of Green Money
Can we – and, if so, how might we – advance economic prosperity whilst making responsible use of Earth’s resources? A single person cannot grasp all the – ecological, societal, individual, financial and scientific – variables in play, but seven imperatives will help open a way forward.
The Runaway Train of Shareholder Value
Demands within our natural and social worlds are forcing a new reality for business. Boards and senior teams have no choice but to leap from the runaway train of shareholder value.
Silo-Busting Power of Business Purpose
Well understood business purpose breaks down organisational silos, to unite departments and teams. Clear statements of purpose lead to a more effective organisation.
Mopping Floors, or Sending a Man to the Moon?
Your organisation’s ambition to change the world can inspire great accomplishments – but only if people see how their own role fits into the wider purpose. Are your people mopping floors or, as NASA’s janitor believed, sending a man to the moon?
Why Management Exists
Get everyone on track to a single destination – and work becomes easier, customers get a better deal and shareholders enjoy higher returns. Management exists to agree, set out and champion business purpose.
Our Obsession with the Lycra-Clad Thighs of Leadership
Leadership does not design new railway carriages, manufacture chocolate biscuits, or answer customers’ phone calls. A successful company sees how leadership steers its organisation. But it also rewards other work, often less valued, that is the real energy behind strong business outcomes.
Why on Earth Does Your Company Even Exist?
The world’s expectations of business are changing. To thrive, companies need better, up-to-date answers to the fundamental questions of why they exist, and for whom.
Ditch Red Tape for Better Cooperation
Cooperation, the first problem for every CEO. Where the red tape of bureaucracy fails, culture is a powerful way to engage people and align work with your business purpose.
Company Values: Be Colourful, Bold, Unique
Commonplace values such as service, integrity, innovation and teamwork show mediocre ambitions. Aspire to a grand purpose? Champion values that are colourful, bold, and unique.
Putting ideas to work
Our thinking is informed by experience in strategy, culture, and leadership within complex multinationals. We help a business master disruption and create lasting value.