During the first Covid pandemic wave, we observed the corporate and political leaders who were having a positive impact on their constituencies or employees. One of the five points these men and women have in common is the refusal to “look at the Future in the rear-view mirror”. They are acutely aware that going back, after Covid, to “Business as…

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When asked by participants to my public speeches about the tools that disruptive organizations use, my reply is that, tools don’t make an organization disruptive: its mindset and culture do! This being said, to identify and challenge orthodoxies (Gary Hamel 1997) are a classic of disruptive thinking (see my article of 2017). Shell’s famous scenario planning (1970’s) is another way…

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I confess to be increasingly sceptical when hearing people talk about “New Normal”, a convenient way to go back, without too much questioning, to “Business as Usual” after a superficial facelift! Working from home? New Normal! All digital? New Normal! Virtual meetings? New Normal! Increased control? New Normal! And the list could be long… The problem I have with “New…

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The actual pandemic will have taught us the joys and challenges of distance-work, working from home, virtual meetings etc. And there is no question, in my mind, that this is absolutely necessary. It enables organisations to continue to work (and it is amazing how quickly we have adapted and performed) whilst limiting the damage to employees’ health and showing respect…

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Almost nine years ago, I wrote an article titled: “Bonding vs bridging: One of the biggest cause of value destruction”. I recommend you read it (again?) as a complement to this one. Bonding is an exclusion based reflex or strategy, inciting divisiveness and polarization against a common “enemy” (usually a weak placebo for the lack of a superior, shared and…

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A friend and client, C.E.O. of a chemical company, wrote in reaction to our last blogpost: “Sometimes with brutality, 2020 has placed the values of Life back to the centre of our reflection. I believe that the Future will be different and I wonder if those hastily rushing to getting all back “as it was before”, are not setting themselves…

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In 2004, James Surowiecki (head of the Business Column in The New-Yorker), published a book which still fascinates us nowadays: “The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations”. In it, he provides several examples where collective intelligence produced far more accurate, insightful or useful results than…

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Over the past 30 years or so of coaching and advising leaders at all levels, we have been struck by one frustratingly constant observation: the majority of change initiatives end in failure. Not all of them make the headlines, obviously, and some are only partial failures that can be neatly swept under the carpet. Still, the conclusion remains the same,…

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Put yourselves into the shoes of an employee: A lethal pandemic has hit the World. Your business and political leaders have no clues how to react to it. A wind of panic blows… You are faced with a “Cornelian Choice”: Do I report sick or “at risk” so as to protect my life and my family from infection or do…

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Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) was a brilliant scientist and science-fiction writer. One of his famous quotes is “Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread, winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge!” More recently, Etienne Klein (a French physicist/philosopher) quoted an amazing poll published…

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