decision-making Archives

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

Forging a Pathway Into 2023 – Ideas and Innovations from 2040

Forging a Pathway Into 2023 Issue 89, January 5, 2023 Two of the most important qualities we need (personally and professionally) to make good decisions are perspective and context. In order to move forward, both give relevance to how the past informs the present and can be predictive of how to plan for the future. If we take three tenses, we can reflect on what we have learned and how those insights can guide us today and tomorrow. Having said…

Kevin Novak

January 5, 2023

Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

Taking Stock – Ideas and Innovations from 2040

Taking Stock Issue 88, December 29, 2022 One could argue that January 1 is an arbitrary date to evaluate the past 12 months. We routinely like to look back to the past calendar year, determine what went well and reflect on what we wanted to change. We view January 1 as a fresh start to tackle our procrastination, fix things that are broken, generally refresh, and forge a committed pathway forward. We all know that for many, these reflections, decisions,…

Kevin Novak

December 28, 2022

Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

The Unintended Consequences of Indecision – Ideas and Innovations from 2040

The Unintended Consequences of Indecision Issue 87, December 22, 2022 Should I stay or should I go? Should we pivot or stay the course? Are my next-gens going to quietly quit? How are we going to make more money in such a disruptive economy? Is everyone going to agree with me? Am I going to be held accountable? Do I even need to be accountable? And why is everything so damned hard all the time? If you are a leader,…

Kevin Novak

December 22, 2022

Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

It Was the Best of Times …and Maybe the Worst – Ideas and Innovations from 2040

It Was the Best of Times …and Maybe the Worst Issue 86, December 15, 2022 It’s that time of year for stories. We’ve all got them: holiday merriment, missteps, and mayhem. All the stories that we remember and pass on from our portfolio of family and personal legends. We have a few stories as well. In our new book, The Truth About Transformation, we have an entire section devoted to dispatches (aka case studies) that are some of the most…

Kevin Novak

December 14, 2022

Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

Uncertainty and Disruption: Ideas and Innovations from 2040

Uncertainty and Disruption Issue 78, Oct 20, 2022 You know something’s happening, but you don’t know what it is. Your competition is edging ahead. Your stakeholders are ambivalent. Your workforce is listless. Your management team is exhausted. Nothing that worked before is working now. You’re not alone. High performance in disruptive markets puts everyone to the test and on edge. Old strategies don’t work because conditions have changed. Managing a remote workforce with traditional management tactics doesn’t work because they’re…

Kevin Novak

October 29, 2022

Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

Too Much Choice Makes Brand Loyalty an Endangered Species – Ideas + Innovations from 2040

Too Much Choice Makes Brand Loyalty an Endangered Species Issue 77: Oct 13, 2022 There’s a sea change taking place in social media and streaming platforms which should be a red flag for organizations that offer memberships, subscriptions or use devices that seek to deliver continuous value via consumer consumption, leading to rich sources of recurring revenue. Members Only Membership and subscription have become all the rage over the past five years across many businesses. The continual drips of monthly…

Kevin Novak

October 13, 2022

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

Assumptions and Consequences – Ideas + Innovations from 2040

Assumptions and Consequences Issue 74: Sept 22, 2022 Don’t make any assumptions! How many times have we heard this – at work and at home? Yet, we make assumptions all the time. And our assumptions are typically personal speculations that have broad implications. We assume that our workforce is achieving its potential. We assume that leadership is making decisions that benefit the entire organization, including its workers. We assume that our customers are pleased with our products and services and…

Kevin Novak

September 21, 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

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