As my colleague Nick McRoberts noted last week, errors are common, both in science and in business, and having to admit that we were wrong is one of the most difficult things to do. In this article I will look at the size of the problem and the underlying causes...

One of the most difficult things that we all face at some point is having to admit that we were wrong. I don’t mean minor mistakes like predicting the weekend weather incorrectly that we can shrug off by mumbling “errare humanum est”. I’m referring to the difficult,...

Engaging people at the Intellectual level requires that we co-create (create with them instead of broadcast) clarity, meaning and ownership about what we wish to engage them in. Several tools and practices exist and most of them have to do with creating a space where...

This is what I received a few days ago from a British (obviously Eurosceptic) friend: Pythagoras' Theorem: 24 words. Lord's Prayer: 66 words. Archimedes' Principle: 67 words. Ten Commandments: 179 words. Gettysburg Address: 286 words. US Declaration of Independence :...

A discrete, sometimes hidden, part of the work some of my senior partners and I do, has to deal with Team Coaching, in other words reconstruct the bridge of Trust that bad habits, tensions, pressure or lack of transparency have badly damaged. Mistrust, suspicion,...

No Schadenfreude (celebrating somebody else’s misfortunes): Michael Porter and his theories were at the center of what I learned at IMD. And his five forces model was and still is a useful checklist that any entrepreneurial leader should be well advised to study...

For those of us who still doubt that co-creating clarity, meaning and ownership is an energy catalyst and that submitting our people to a passive consumption of powerpoints is a must, I suggest you watch this amazing and short video... What was to be a kind surprise...

Oriana Nawezi is the youngest member of our team. She showed me a video clip which had profoundly moved her and she offered to write a blog post that would draw leadership lessons from it. Here it is: the few clients who were fortunate to see her comment it this week...

Prior to allowing us a break for the Summer/Winter (depending on where you live), I wanted to share a piece of wisdom coming from a newspaper article from Luiz Felipe Pondé and posted by a friend, Alcides Ferri, on his Facebook page...

The Belgian professor and consultant, Nick van Heck, likes to say, in a purposefully provocative manner that “Disruptions do not exist. They are only an excuse for the unprepared”. For him, leaders need to challenge their assumptions about what strategy and planning...

A timely post from our partner, Marvin Faure, who, amongst many other talents is a very serious amateur cyclist. The study he made amongst his fellow bikers is rather interesting as many parallels can be drawn with the business world. Cycling is in the news this week...

In 2008, Brafman and Beckstrom wrote “The Starfish and the Spider”. The metaphor they use is the one of the spider, incapacitated as soon as its head is hit, compared to the starfish which can be split in several bits and continue to live and grow. They then develop...

Do I need to present Warren Buffet, the “sage of Omaha” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Buffett)? Considered the investor with the most impressive track record of the 20th century (and still active today), he is the C.E.O. of Berkshire Hathaway. This conglomerate...

Recently, my attention got caught by an article inviting to “meet the entrepreneur working to challenge Nokia, Blackberry and Samsung in Africa” in Forbes magazine. I read it since I am interested by what is happening on the business development front in Africa and...

This is the cry from the heart, our strategy specialist, Nick van Heck from Executive Learning Partnership, said to a client who was complaining about his people, following the script instead of behaving as real entrepreneurs. In the old days, when strategy was...

I recently read an excellent book on the “Midlife Crisis” which I warmly recommend. I was relieved to see confirmed that this critical moment of our lives, poorly understood and commented by so many, does not necessarily mean that one suddenly buys a Harley-Davidson...

Derek Anthony Redmond was a British athlete, he held the British record for the 400 metres sprint, and won gold medals in the 4x400 metres relay.  As for all other athletes, winning the Olympic title was the dream of a life time and Derek had worked harder than anyone...

One of the critical points in Joseph Campbell’s seminal work (the Universal Myth, the Hero’s Journey) is the “Crossing of the Threshold”… It is probably one of the most painful and difficult steps to take… The Hero has come to where he is, thanks to the skills he has...