technology
During an exchange on Twitter earlier this year with some folks who were attending #scrmsummit we chatted about customer service and about how costs are a real focus for most customer service activity. Thus, rather than focusing on excellent customer service, most organisations focus on the cheapest and most efficient
management & leadership
Over the past 150 years businesses have dealt with the challenges of increased scale by optimizing processes, resource allocation and expenditure. However, there is a limit to how much one can optimize a business and not damage the society within which that business exists. I have spent a goodly part
ethics
There have been astonishing revelations in London about leaders in the News International group of companies and in the UK Parliament. Perhaps even more shocking is the disclosure of the deep and complex relationships between the two groups? It is a classic case study of power and the old-fashioned dispensation
civil society
The demise of a 168 year old (and reportedly profitable) newspaper in Britain called the News of the World (NoTW) gives us some valuable insights on a number of levels. Every day over the past few weeks we have been gobsmacked by the revelations about NoTW and assume nothing could
civil society
I've never been a big fan of David Allen's Getting Things Done® method - all that sorting and categorising of endless lists bores me. But I am a huge fan of getting stuff done. Many years ago after yet another time management course at work I
ideas
I've been thinking about innovation a great deal lately and am fascinated by how many people confuse two different kinds of innovation. The two different kinds of innovation are: 1. continuous improvement - the drive for operational excellence, which is driven by optimising existing business processes and products
ideas
Every business book I pick up nowadays seems to accept as a fundamental premise that innovation is a good thing and that it should be pursued relentlessly. But I've been wondering about that particular premise and under what circumstances it might (or might not) be true. Innovation provides
civil society
Last year with the launch of Social Innovation Sydney I was inspired by the idea of rebooting capitalism. I had become depressed about the nature of business in our world today and wanted to do something practical about changing things. Then I went off to Paris for LeWeb 2010 Conference
social computing & social media
I'm in Brisbane today attending the Smart Services CRC Conference. Following are slides from my presentation earlier today. Tweets from attendees are under the hashtag #smartservicescrc in case you're curious. Leadership and the Digital Revolution
ideas
I've been reading an old article that remains extremely interesting - it is an academic paper dating back to 2001 titled Bad Is Stronger Than Good. The authors note that: ... Bad impressions and bad stereotypes are quicker to form and more resistant to disconfirmation than good ones. "
management & leadership
Recently I noted several large businesses announcing proudly they had adopted Agile development techniques - for example Suncorp, NBN Co, Allianz, Jemena. There is a pattern to the adoption of a new methodology within an organisation. I have lived through the adoption of a number of new methodologies over the
ideas
Over the years I worked as a senior manager in large organisations and, more recently, as an educator and business coach for senior managers across private and government organisations. A fascinating phenomenon that comes up in all of those places is, what I've come to call, "the