You may well have heard of the wicked problem. It’s the definition of especially thorny societal problems. It was coined in the 6o’s by Horst Rittel.

For the last two decades (at least) I’ve come to realise that even solving an everyday business problem is hard — often wickedly hard…

>70% of change initiatives fail

Over the years we’ve gathered insights into why leaders and strategies go off the rails. Not surprisingly they are worth the effort to revisit every now and then.

Oh, The Paradox. Why We Fail.

1. Knowing a challenge is complicated, but not spending time simplifying how to think about it.
2. Developing plans without involving those executing it…

I’ve developed some fresh rules for my life.

I precede every discussion with a disclaimer – ‘I’ve no idea’ — no idea what’s going to happen — no idea what’s true. And no idea how people have arrived at their conclusions. Except they have.

In each conversation, I hear words…

Simple — Not

After a few decades stumbling around the topic, two things became clear.

1. You have to change the way business thinks if you want to change how it works.

2. If businesses change how they work they can change how their audiences think.

Imagine That

Businesses have the chance to change the…

Let’s get straight to it.

We used to define the future in units of 5, 10 – maybe even 50 years. Science fiction painted us the pictures.

Now it’s possible to achieve almost anything we like in weeks or months if we put our minds to it. If you are awake then you are already…

“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.” — Sir Winston Churchill

Under Pressure

Whatever size, type or age of your business right now the pressures are the same — increase performance at the lowest cost and without risk. …

It’s still only February.

I’ve lost track of the plane journeys I’ve been on this year. The only saving grace of air travel is the refuge it affords. A disconnected space up here on top of the clouds — a welcome respite from the deluge. …

It’s A Struggle To Get People To Agree

For reasons of physiology, we each have our own perspectives on everything. That means different definitions and different meanings for everything. That signals, waste, risk, cost and frustration. That’s never good.

“If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never…