What do 3M’s Post-its, Google’s Gmail, and Sony’s PlayStation have in common? None of them were produced according to plan. They were all born in flexible organizations that encourage individual initiative. When it comes to seizing and developing new opportunities, such an entrepreneurial spirit is key, and this is doubly true when times are tough.Read more…

Ever have a great idea for a project, only to see it fail due to unforeseen complications? Ever been the manager without the resources to accomplish a plan handed down from on high? Feel like the company has lots of good ideas but no time to implement them? Adaptive management is designed to overcome suchRead more…

Waves of social outcry and protest; debt crises in the United States, Europe, and Japan; a growing desire for autonomy among workers; and new technologies that upset the fundamentals of traditional business — 2011 represents a peak in the waves of changes affecting the business world since the beginning of the century. How will businessRead more…

Resilience, adaptability, unprecedented agility, and higher quality for less cost: these are the buzzwords surrounding the revolutionary design and leadership discipline known as biomimicry. Find out how companies are looking to nature for answers to their most challenging product, strategy, and structural design problems. Biomimicry is a way of looking at 3.8 years of goodRead more…

What is the best way to prepare for black swans, events with low probability but considerable consequences? It is all about flexibility, says Nassim Taleb. According to the researcher, nothing is served by trying to control every risk. Instead, leaders should focus on developing the overall resilience of their organization to the most unlikely crises.Read more…

As the trend continues to mature, companies that went in blindly are facing numerous disillusionments in regards to social media, including difficulties harnessing collective intelligence, the risk of reduced employee productivity, and damage to brand reputation… But these are not reasons to abandon a shift toward Enterprise 2.0. As with any strategic project, social mediaRead more…

Is it time to envision R&D centers in Nigeria? Recruit engineers from Yemen? Design computers for users aged 65+ in Japan? Yes, yes, and yes, say experts on demographic change. The aging of the global population represents yet another reason to adopt more polycentric talent and market management strategies. As birth rates continue to fallRead more…

It’s no longer viable to innovate in a closed circuit! Like P&G, Google, and Boeing, more and more companies are recognizing the need to seek new ideas beyond their borders and are thus opening their innovation processes to outside communities (e.g., researchers, suppliers, consumers). How do they do it? The company must take leadership onRead more…

Frameworks and procedures are overshadowing strategy; management practices are alienating the workforce; product and service offers are overwhelming both customers and sales teams… So STOP! How about bringing a welcome dose of simplicity into your organization? Complexity in your working environment compromises your efficiency! Does that mean you are doomed? Not if you realize thatRead more…

The integration of “green” into company strategy doesn’t mean sacrificing growth and profit—much the opposite! Only eco- skeptics still confuse “green” with “constraints”. Is green business just a marketing fad? Eco-skeptics are wrong to think so. Everyone else is definitively integrating this dimension into business strategy in pursuit of a triple goal: reduce costs byRead more…