A topic of discussion at the Global Peter Drucker Forum last week was the effect that widespread digital information has on less well-off people’s views of their own situations. In the past, it was possible… Read more »
Insights and ideas
Stop expecting applause for just doing your job!
It happened again this morning – after taking my car to get some necessary maintenance, I received a breathlessly enthusiastic email asking whether I had any reason not to be thrillingly ecstatic with the service… Read more »
Whither golf? The iconic old boy’s game facing erosion?
If you spend any amount of time at corporate retreats, offsites and workshops, as I do, golf is ubiquitous. Bonding takes place on the course, the post-game conviviality is shared, and team-building exercises pairing golfers… Read more »
Don’t listen to what your customers say, watch how they behave
I am often asked by companies with whom I work whether focus groups, surveys or customer panels are useful in learning what customers want and more importantly, what they will pay for. Sure, these techniques… Read more »
Sustainable advantage, Transient Advantage and Organizational Change
In an insightful blog that is part of a series HBR is running on the intersection between Strategy and Innovation, editor Sarah Cliffe interviews colleague Don Sull, who argues that you can think of the… Read more »
Davos: Using complexity to fight cyber-criminals
This morning, I moderated a panel on "Managing Complexity with the Santa Fe Institute at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. One of the featured thought leaders was Stephanie Forrest, a computer scientist who… Read more »
Symbolism – Plastics Journal picks up McGrath’s blog
I just ran across the following interesting article – Title: AIG mess embodiespower of emotions. By: Grace, Robert, Plastics News, 1042802X, 4/6/2009, Vol. 21, Issue 5 The author ran across a blog I did… Read more »
Taking the time every day to learn and reflect
This article, entitled "the best way to use the last five minutes of your day" made me think about a lot of the executives I work with who are just too busy to reflect on anything at… Read more »
More on Total Recall Technologies
I’ve been getting a lot of interested reactions from the World Economic Forum / Harvard Business Review “Ideaslab” session I did at Davos. You can find the YouTube version here and it is also published… Read more »
Session at Davos: Growth Through Innovation
This had to be one of the more fun sessions I attended at Davos, on a topic near and dear to my heart. Here’s the WEF summary: Growth through Innovation The financial crisis will be… Read more »
Snippet from Davos - Cool ideas from older industries
I’m sitting in a panel entitled “Cool ideas from older industries”. Among the participants is Brad Anderson, the CEO of Best Buy. Great phrase: The huge disadvantage established organization have is habits. Many organizations choose… Read more »
Green: Nice while it lasted?
Only the blink of an eye ago, it seems, you couldn’t open a paper or read a magazine without someone talking about how ‘green’ their businesses were and how environmentalism has become a top-line concern. … Read more »