The 4 Enabling Disciplines
DexterityDynamism
Discourse
Discovery
Reeling from an unexpected end of what I thought was an on-going initiative, I found myself in bewilderment. Shortly thereafter I was fortunate enough to have not one, but numerous encounters which helped me to come to grips with my situation. I am not alone in my current dilemma. Out of my bewilderment emerged a wonderful realization: I am a Catalyst. According to the research, there are not too many of us – only about 5- 7 % in any social group. We are the people who strive to enable sustainable change. But I as I have learned firsthand, traditional [...]
This is a powerful question. It took me unawares. It’s the kind of question which you can’t let go of very easily. It was the story which was told to illustrate this question which really got me thinking. An artist friend started to look at his work and noticed that it was becoming just “more of the same”. This is not a good place for any artist to find him or herself. The artist decided to throw absolutely everything out of his studio and disrupt himself completely. He even repainted his studio white – just like a blank canvas. This [...]
Entering unknown territory Currently we are all entering into unknown territory, attempting to master the continuous challenges we face today with the behaviors and processes which worked so well for us in the past. This endeavor reminds me of the competition between Roald Amundsen of Norway and Robert Scott of Great Britain to be the first person to reach the South Pole. Part of the reason that Amundsen was successful while Scott was not, was that Amundsen used dogs to help him traverse this hostile terrain. In contrast, Scott used ponies. They had been extraordinarily useful in past explorations, but [...]
The World as Network Our world is organized on the principle of networks. Everywhere we look, networks can be discovered. It was the emerging new science of ecology in the early 20th century which observed that species were linked together through their feeding relations with each other (aka food chains). Subsequently, it was understood that these links are an integral part of a network known as the food web which connects all species in an eco-system with one another. This food web acts as a a kind of natural “circular economy” in which even the waste of one species is [...]
Organizations need to create work environments which provide employees with psychological safety It is becoming increasingly clear that mastering digital disruption is primarily an organizational culture issue not a technology issue. The results of a 4 year study by the Massachussetts Institute of Technology and Deloitte clearly spells this out. Digital maturity is the new paradigm which will increasingly be the focus of organizations' efforts to master digital disruption. A "fearless culture" is the first step to digital maturity. DIGITAL MATURITY is defined as "an organization's ability to compete effectively by taking advantage of opportunities enabled by technological infrastructure, both [...]
Emotions and Leadership As we prepare tomorrow's business leaders, not enough is being invested in teaching them the basics of what it means to be human. Their preparation typically consists of an on-going accumulation of factual knowledge combined with the acquisition of a spectrum of business skills. It is apparent when looking at this kind of work preparation, that the focus is on the content and the process of the work to be done. Much less is invested in the ability to relate to whom they are actually leading: human beings. Learning to work with and lead people is for the most part often left to be learned on the [...]
In the wheat growing areas of the world, grain is stored in large towers known as silos. Each silo rises high into the sky, independent of the other silos. Multiple silos are usually required. This colorful metaphor that has become commonplace to describe separation and lack of coordination in organizations and in society which is not necessarily understood across the entire world. Silos are not to be found in rice based economies. When in 2005 the newly appointed CEO to Sony – Howard Stringer (an Englishman who had led Sony’s North American operations) – made his first strategy speech in [...]
