When I run Lean or Continuous Improvement sessions, I often explain that around 70% of our daily activity doesn’t add any real value to what we’re trying to achieve. That figure rarely surprises anyone. In fact, when I ask people to guess, they often land somewhere around that number
Read More“There’s no I in team” is one of those phrases that gets trotted out whenever someone needs to be reminded that it’s not all about them. It’s catchy. It sounds wise. It gets printed on posters, stitched into corporate training slides, and dropped into motivational speeches. I cringe every time I hear it ..... it seems to gloss over the vital...
Read MoreYou may have heard the saying: “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with”. When I first heard that, it struck a chord - it still does - and has now been adopted by that little voice at the back of my mind that keeps reminding me to constantly meet and get to know new
Read MoreWe’ve all heard the saying “Curiosity killed the cat.” But where does that come from, and what was it really warning against? It turns out, the original saying, first recorded in the 16th century, was “Care killed the cat”, where “care” meant worry or sorrow. It wasn’t until the late 19th century that it evolved into a cautionary warning against...
Read MoreBack in the 1950s, US Air Force Colonel John Boyd was serving as a fighter pilot during the Korean War. His experience in fast-paced dogfighting led him to study decision-making under time pressure. He was especially interested in why American F-86 Sabres were more effective than the technically superior MiG-15s flown by North Korean and Chinese...
Read MoreIn today’s unpredictable world, good leadership isn’t just about moving fast. Instead, it’s about moving with judgment; it involves knowing when to lead from the front, and when to watch, learn, and move decisively at just the right moment. We all know the old saying: “The early bird catches the worm”. And in business, this has often been held...
Read MoreBack in high-school, one of the many books we had to read and discuss was 1984. Two of the questions we were posed concerned: 'what would have to happen for the world described in that book to come about', and 'what would have to be true for people in that world to not realise what was happening to them'; remember those 2 questions as you read...
Read MoreAll of our clients are privately owned businesses. They have the privilege to do business with whom they choose. This email is for them. Trump’s trade war has started and many are wondering what to do next. We can help - which we’ll explain in a minute. We are in the consulting business because we love what we do and we are on a mission to...
Read MoreThere is absolutely no doubt that it won’t be Business as Usual for the next few years. And that could be a good thing! Why? As the late great Montrealer Leonard Cohn famously said: “Forget your perfect offering, There is a crack in everything,That's how the light gets in.”
Read MoreFeedback is a crucial element in engineering and science, ensuring that systems function optimally within known boundaries. Thermostats regulate temperature by adjusting heating output. Vehicle cruise control maintains speed but adapts to other traffic. Biological feedback loops—such as homeostasis and insulin regulation—help the body stay in...
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