I grew up working on a small ranch in Montana and my father tried to instill in me some common sense. One of the things you learn is to use everything at hand to keep equipment like tractors working and saddles at least functional. It wasn’t about being pretty or new. Duck tape and pliers, as I quickly found out, were a man’s best friends.

Signs of a muddled, unclear 2019 abound in the headlines to start the year. The number of uncertainties facing companies and organizations have significantly increased from a year ago, from rising interest rates, trade disputes, a slowing China, to rapid digital transformations affecting all. In January, for example, the Institute for Supply Chain Management announced that December’s Purchasing Managers Index dropped 5.2% to 54.1, the

I am pleased to share my new HBR article that just came out this week - https://hbr.org/2018/05/mindfulness-as-a-management-technique-goes-back-to-at-least-the-1970s. Mindfulness and strategic planning have rarely been linked. We are living in a world of tremendous uncertainties today, with a rapid digital tech wave upon us and fake news distorting facts. Mindfulness has now grown up to be part of many organizations’ creativity and wellness programs. Having learned

At a macro level, the US economy is still growing slowly. There are a few good signs of improvement, as we’re into the ninth year from 2008’s recession. But one bright spot are cities – and interestingly, not all large ones. And, if it’s a “smart” city planning well, it will likely create even more advantages – and opportunities for companies - in coming years.

We know many of the challenges of creating innovation in today’s companies. But what is rarely paid attention to is what new start-ups are focused on – many of these new innovations will emerge and transform how we live, work and play – and change the playing field for existing companies and industries. Through scanning some of the leading venture capital (VC) firms’ portfolios, some

Leadership is a constant need for every organization, especially in light of today’s rapid digital technology changes, uncertain government regulations and policies, and working in a more disruptive world. But there are some new skills, twists and insights emerging. One of my favorite leadership books is still Good to Great, by Jim Collins, who cites five characteristics or levels of great leaders from the hundreds

With the U.S. pulling out of the Paris climate change accords, there has been much concern for many U.S. companies, especially those that have been leaders in their sustainability efforts and green initiatives. But is there a silver lining for these leaders? A first thing to remember: the Paris agreement was always a voluntary agreement, without any enforcement mechanisms. It is one thing for a

In our global world, many companies and organizations are increasingly finding that their own internal strategies need external stakeholders in order to be most successful. But a different additive approach is to take a more pro-active leadership role with stakeholders and create a powerful strategy together. From corporate to NGO to civic sectors, organizations using a collaborative stakeholder or more system leadership approaches can lead

In my recent client work around digital trends well underway, from predictive analytics and Big Data, artificial intelligence, internet of things (IoT) to everything connected, it’s not a matter of trying to slow them down (no one can), but asking an important deeper question: is there any moral or ethical compass helping to guide them? Can companies or organizations effectively frame or respond appropriately? In