leadership Archives

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: Nine Real Risks in 2022

Nine Real Risks in 2022 Issue 38: January 13, 2022 The existential and operational risks facing any leader have been ramped up because of an ongoing pandemic, economic disruption, global supply chain breakdowns and a series of demands from all stakeholders delivered through an increasingly contentious civil discourse. Our organizations have faced tough times in the past; what feels different this time is the perfect storm of forces most leaders have no control over. The irony is that on the…

Kevin Novak

January 12, 2022

Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

2040’s Ideas and Innovations 2021 Year End Wrap Up-A Guide to Readiness For Change and Transformation

A Guide to Readiness for Change and Transformation Issue 36: December 28, 2021 As we look back over the past year, it is remarkable to note how resilient we are as human beings and together as a society, which extends to our organizations and their culture. Leading in a time of ambiguity can be exhausting and meeting all stakeholders’ expectations is never-ending. At 2040, we work with our clients to navigate the sea changes that have reshaped and re-engineered how…

Kevin Novak

December 28, 2021

Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

Ideas + Innovations from 2040: Great Expectations

Great Expectations What is the role of a business leader today? The pressures placed on managers and leaders have grown exponentially with expectations from all stakeholders to lead in a certain way. And that way is what those stakeholders believe is the right way. The leadership arena is complex and risky. Whether you lead a small association or a multinational brand, the skillset required to exceed everyone’s expectations has expanded beyond organizational expertise. As we turn our attention, despite current…

Kevin Novak

December 23, 2021

Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

Ideas + Innovations from 2040: Context Is Everything

Context Is Everything We have shared with you a set of practices that is key to high performance, optimal business modeling, productive workplace culture and enlightened leadership. Clear, unbiased communications and organizational constructs are essential tools in a digital marketplace. And activating these tools is made more powerful through critical thinking and analysis with context. We are among those that believe that context is everything. It is the foundational pillar of any change and transformation. Without contextual analysis, transformation is…

Kevin Novak

December 16, 2021

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

Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

Ideas + Innovations from 2040: Innovation Theater

Innovation Theater Everyone talks about innovation, but how does it really happen? And what is the difference between authentic innovation and a pastiche of innovation that doesn’t power true transformation or change? As we all know, managing and operating an organization has many underlying parts that come together to create the whole system. A startup has the agility and flexibility to innovate and pivot as its size is small, focused and often committed to solving a particular problem. Once it…

Kevin Novak

November 4, 2021

Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

Ideas + Innovations from 2040: The Fault in Ourselves

The Fault in Ourselves One outcome of the pandemic is operating in a highly fractious marketplace with gender identity, economic and political distinctions often accelerated into polarization. These issues are not just external, they are also prevalent internally, revealing new challenges to leading and working together. At 2040 we find that these issues rise to the surface and become roadblocks to transformation when personal bias, conscious or subconscious, rules the culture, infuses decision making, and forms our personal and professional…

Kevin Novak

October 21, 2021

Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

Decision Making in a Digital Age – Ideas + Innovations from 2040

Decision Making in a Digital Age The debate in management and leadership circles is how to best make decisions in a digital age. Should you be data-driven or intuitive? There are too many variables, including institutional knowledge and bias that limit the value of gut decision making, particularly in a fundamentally and dynamically ever-changing environment. We are the sum-total of our own biases and past experiences, which hinder the effectiveness of intuitive decision-making in the 21st century. A decision-making approach…

Kevin Novak

October 7, 2021

Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

Ideas + Innovations from 2040: Managing Individual and Team Transitions for Transformation Success

Managing Individual and Team Transitions for Transformation Success The human element of any change or transformation effort is often overlooked or not even considered. Leaders assume the hierarchy of management and staff will simply follow directions and bring the strategies and goals to life. With command-and-control leadership, assumptions are made that those responsible for operational and organizational change understand what to do or will figure out what to do to meet the set direction. In today’s everchanging environment, internalized urgency…

Kevin Novak

September 22, 2021

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