Subvert The Dominant Paradigm
June 19. San Francisco. Atelier Laurent Studio. It was a gathering of contrarians, a few hundred radicals hand-selected to come together to mash it up inside an inspiring art studio. These weren’t painters or sculptors. These were protagonists in the business world, protestors of the status quo – demonstrators, if you will, of a better way to build and run organizations. This was a gathering of change agents who drive new agendas all over the world – in big organizations and small, established ones and newbie’s. This event was called the MIX Mashup. Its stories can be found here. As...
read moreWhat is Transformation?
I recently read an article in The Economist about Jim Collins, the author of Built to Last, Good to Great, and, most recently, Great by Choice. The piece reviewed the merits of Collins’s overarching point of view — that greatness is largely a matter of choice and discipline — relative to other approaches including a transformative one. What surprised me wasn’t the comparison of disciplined and steady versus an aggressive agenda, but rather that transformation was painted with a ‘trash and burn’ brush. It got me thinking: What do we know...
read moreThe Road to Value (Part 2)
In The Road to Value (Part 1) I revealed a powerful way to lead a changing or emerging industry by developing a roadmap that delineates the way to create and capture value in that industry. The post showcased market-based benefits to doing this leading work. It also referenced the internal value that could be gained inside the company architecting the roadmap. Internal value is the focus of this post. A value roadmap can provide a number of sustainable benefits inside the company that invests in the effort. The capabilities section of the value roadmap showcases the gaps between what the...
read moreTaking a Leap
The act of going from where you are to a higher, more valuable level is often expressed in a number of funny ways: Breaking through. Getting to a new level. Making big strides. But, the one I like best is taking a leap. Taking a leap captures the emotion in doing something dramatically different. It’s exhilarating, but it’s also a bit scary. To make a bold move you have to get out of your comfort zone. You have to get beyond the status quo. Which means you have to get off the current path even if that path has attractive upswings. Most organizations operate off of an ‘S’ curve, which...
read moreAlign for Success
Do you remember the popular book, Dress for Success? It sold millions of copies based on a simple concept: If you want to get ahead you need to look the part. And that starts with what you wear. Wardrobes were updated everywhere. Dress for Success was itself a resounding success because it nailed the fundamentals. Its basic premise made sense — appearances matter. And, it was easy to execute. So, the individual had a playbook, albeit one book in the broader scheme of things, on how to increase their odds of success. Cool. What about the organization? Is there an equivalent playbook...
read moreSpeed Matters Blog
Thomas Butta
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