Every so often, we like to share some visionary, even controversial ideas that explore the edges of what’s possible. This installment features an interview with one of the most interesting systems thinkers in our region. Enjoy! Paolo Pezzotta is an economist and systems thinker. By trade, he is a market development and systems management consultant.…
Read More →“Utility cannot be divorced from emotion… A theory of choice that completely ignores feelings leads to prescriptions that do not maximize the utility of outcomes as they are actually experienced. “Simplified: Employees pretty much do what they feel like doing. So, as a communicator, our greatest source of power is your ability to influence the…
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Change is constant. Companies are continually up against forces that put pressures on them to adjust their strategies. Economic swings, technology changes, globalization, increased competition, and demographic shifts are examples of these forces. It can be a big event or, more likely, a series of small ongoing changes. The question is, how will companies…
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What’s communicated within impacts what’s communicated out. It’s rare that a company with a great external reputation is dysfunctional when it comes to communicating internally. In this social-digital age, leadership messages communicated internally eventually resonate out into the world. Just as the stories we tell ourselves influence our own behavior (and ultimately the opinions of…
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Leaders and managers do not receive the training and support they need to communicate effectively with their team, according to a recent study by ROI Communication of Fortune 500 companies. The study reveals that only 40% of companies provide communications training for their leaders and managers. So it isn’t surprising to hear then that…
Read More →There is a tendency among leaders to mask conflict, even when there are underlying issues that could threaten the future of the organization. We recently worked with a successful and creative organization that was beginning to feel itself go off the rails. The company is the gold standard in the industry. It has received numerous…
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Narcissism is a spectrum disorder. While some people may exhibit a few narcissistic traits, others exhibit full-blown personality disorder. Leaders often find themselves working alongside narcissists. In fact, some narcissists make great leaders. They have “rock star” qualities. They’re charismatic, visionary and excellent at their trade. But they can also be self-devoted to the point…
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A recent NPR story described the current generation of young people as one of the most compassionate, ecologically-minded, progressive thinkers ever born. They keep in contact with each other every minute. They are more globally aware, and they are incredibly tolerant of other human beings. They don’t use natural resources wastefully, and they aren’t…
Read More →Do your emotions drag you with them, or are you in charge? In a Google Talk by Chade-Meng Tan, he asks the audience to contemplate that question, illustrating the point with a parable about a horse and its rider. They pass a person on the road who asks the rider, “Where are you going?” The rider responds,…
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As most behavioral psychologists will attest, every aspect of multi-tasking is terrible for us. It inhibits our individual ability to pay attention, reducing our cognitive control and ability to self-manage. And more importantly, by extension, it reduces our ability to show empathy. Put another way, it increases society’s ever-growing ‘empathy-gap.’ The most important requirement for…
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