critical thinking Archives

Can You Hear Me … Now? – Ideas and Innovations from 2040

Can You Hear Me … Now? Issue 96, February 23, 2023 The challenge of communicating with colleagues has become increasingly difficult. With the proliferation of tech experts and Next Gens in the workforce, we may need a translator to ensure we all understand each other. Here’s a real-life example. A content team is struggling to understand how to load a certification testing module into a new software platform. The project lead from the platform is a developer who thinks with…

Kevin Novak

February 23, 2023

Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

When Less Is More – Ideas and Innovations from 2040

When Less Is More Issue 92, January 26, 2023 “We’re too big to fail.” Try that one out on Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg. If there were ever two visionaries with an overabundance of hubris, they’re the ones. Although the concept of “too big to fail” technically refers to an organization that is so important to a financial system that a government would not allow it to go bankrupt due to the seriousness of the economic repercussions (Wiki), one could argue…

Kevin Novak

January 26, 2023

Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

An Elephant? What Elephant? Where Is the Elephant? – Ideas + Innovations from 2040

An Elephant? What Elephant? Where Is the Elephant? Decision-Making: Actions, Influences, Impacts and Unintended Consequences Issue 75: Sept 29, 2022 In June of this year, we published an article about unintended consequences and how many organizations, governments and individuals are blindsided by not anticipating the future. Technically, unintended consequences are outcomes of actions in the immediate past or in current times that have unforeseen impacts or influences on the near or far future. Consider a line of dominoes or a…

Kevin Novak

September 29, 2022

Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

What Role Do You Play? – Ideas + Innovations from 2040

What Role Do You Play? Issue 72: Sept 8, 2022 Here’s a real-life scenario. Recently there has been friction and dissension within a management team. Managers are struggling to help manage a disruptive economy, guide strategy in an ambiguous marketplace, rein in a headstrong CEO that is resisting authority, and manage multiple powerplays among members who believe they have all the answers or who are afraid to reveal themselves and what they don’t know. This is not a fictional drama…

Kevin Novak

September 7, 2022

Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

Targeted Transformation – Ideas + Innovations from 2040

Targeted Transformation Issue 68: August 11, 2022 What’s the default approach to organizational pivots and transformation? Popular opinion is that technology will lead the way and the workforce will follow. It’s a seductive, but majorly misguided notion. First and foremost, it’s the human factor that will make or break any strategic plan. And that’s the focus of our new book, The Truth about Transformation. Our playbook takes a deep focus on what you need to know, the questions you should…

Kevin Novak

August 11, 2022

Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

2040’s Ideas and Innovations: The Power of Positive … and Negative Thinking

The Power of Positive … and Negative Thinking Issue 43: February 17, 2022 What have we been told since kindergarten? Believe in the power of positive thinking! For many, positive thinking is an intuitive attitude reflected in a state of mind and behavior. The optimists, who are inclined to be hopeful and expect good outcomes, live this credo daily. Wake up with positive thoughts and positive outcomes will result. The skeptics, who are inclined to doubt or question any belief…

Kevin Novak

February 16, 2022

Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

2040’s Ideas and Innovations: Inflation + True Value

Inflation + True Value Issue 41: February 3, 2022 This is the first time since 1982 that inflation has grown at such a fast pace and become such an urgent short-term issue for so many organizations and individuals around the world. It is clearly affecting consumers forcing them to make fundamental changes in their choices and their overall lifestyles. The consumer who is now having to be more discerning about their own expenses contributes to a set of challenges faced…

Kevin Novak

February 3, 2022

Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

2040’s Ideas and Innovations: How to Use Systems Thinking + Strategic Thinking

How to Use Systems Thinking + Strategic Thinking Issue 40: January 27, 2022 One of the common complaints about the ongoing explosion of startups is that they tout a solution … as it turns out in many instances, to a problem that usually doesn’t exist. We envy their innovation, admire their flexibility and applied agility, but entrepreneurs often don’t look deeply enough to understand if there is an actual problem that their solution seeks to address. It’s not just the…

Kevin Novak

January 26, 2022

Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

2040’s Ideas and Innovations: Is Perception Everything?

Is Perception Everything? Issue 39: January 20, 2022 Some say that we live in a simulation. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and The Matrix popularized ideas long held by some physicists and game theorists. Some say that we will be living in a parallel reality, a metaverse dramatized by Ender’s Game, Belle and Ready Player One, to mention only three pop culture narratives. There are plenty of thinkers and philosophers who believe that reality is how you perceive it;…

Kevin Novak

January 19, 2022

Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

Ideas + Innovations from 2040: Managing Ourselves and Our Responses

A Helpful Guide to Managing Ourselves and Our Responses We have published 31 Issues of 2040’s Ideas and Innovations Newsletter and appreciate all your feedback and support over this year. We wanted to take the opportunity to curate some of our favorite and most important topics for your holiday reading. As we all take a break from navigating the dynamics in our workplaces and shift to focus on family and friends, we offer you some tactics and approaches you might…

Kevin Novak

November 25, 2021

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