We are approaching what is becoming acknowledged as the anniversary of the “beginning” of the current financial crisis that began in the US – according to the conventional wisdom, with the fall of Lehman Brothers on 15 September 2008 – and which has since swept around the world. And what a year this event has ushered in, and what changes it has wrought . . .
In nature, there are a variety of ways that organisms can disappear. There are those associated with predation and competition, of course. But there are two others that are integrally related to the processes of natural selection and evolution. The more interesting of the two from the perspective of organizational design is called . . .
A common assertion about the power of superlative individual leadership is that corporate culture emanates from it. There are those who advise such leaders on how to “create” or “change” culture to suit the latter group’s evolving needs or the former group’s passing enthusiasms. Have you ever tried to do that?
Many of us have a tendency to anthropomorphize the concept of evolution. We think of it as animated by a sort of ingrained competitive instinct, or, perhaps, straining toward a pure standard of excellence, a state of perfection. But the truth is . . .
Forestry experts used to attack fires as soon as they began, struggling to put them out before they could do what they imagined to be damage to a vital natural resource. As it turned out, though, they had things backward. The experts learned that their remedy was the real danger, the fires the cure. Might not the something like this be the case in a capitalist economy?
We all know what the key drivers are behind the various forms that progressivism takes around the world. In general, it is a forward-looking movement. It believes in change, the need for which is discerned, and the application of which is guided, by experts from within its own ranks. In addition, it is devoted to efficiency and discipline . . .
Like many terms used in business – “leadership” and “leader” come to mind – “corporate culture” is peculiarly plastic. It can mean anything we want that is vaguely related to the way people relate to each other and their work. The result is that it can be difficult to discuss without finding that we are talking past each other. At the same time, overzealous efforts to keep terminology clear can be, more or less, unenlightening. For example, consider an organization where the the atmosphere seems to change dramatically when a new CEO comes in, only to change back when the next turnover at the top occurs. . .
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