Analysis of strategy, competition, and organisational coherence, drawing on classical strategy, contemporary practice, and scepticism toward fashionable frameworks.
53 essays
Visionary leadership can inspire, but in turbulent environments coherence proves stronger. Fixed visions hinder adaptability, while coherent strategies align identity with present realities. Effective leaders balance vision with coherence for lasting resilience.
In 2024, leaders strengthened governance, culture, and decision-making through critical thinking and evidence-based practice. Lessons included avoiding sunk-cost traps, building cohesive cultures, and improving meetings.
Succession planning builds adaptable, emotionally intelligent leaders ready for complexity. It goes beyond replacing roles, pairing rigorous assessment with real growth. By developing latent talent aligned to organisational values, it secures future leadership and long-term success.
Succession planning must be cultural, not procedural. Pipelines grounded in organisational ethos—reinforced through mentorship and rotations—pass on tacit knowledge and identity. Transparent engagement builds trust, making leadership transitions fair, strategic, and resilient.
Succession planning sustains organisations by preparing for leadership transitions while protecting values and goals. It fosters equity, transparency, and cultural alignment, using mentorship and collaboration to balance stability with innovation and build resilient leadership systems.
Innovation drives growth only when balanced with organisational, ethical, and cultural frameworks. Pursued without restraint, it can erode values and stability. Sustainable innovation respects tradition and long-term purpose.
Organisational crises test leaders’ clarity, moral courage, and adaptability. Effective responses balance tradition and innovation, rely on clear hierarchies for swift action, and uphold ethical judgment to ensure resilience.
True strategy requires deep analysis, clear choices, alignment, and continuous learning. Leaders must avoid vague goals and instead create actionable, coherent plans that drive real value and competitive advantage in a complex business environment. A case study of IKEA shows how this approached was
Much of what passes for "strategy" is platitude dressed as direction. A real strategy is specific, actionable, and tied to organisational goals. The difference is rigorous analysis and the willingness to make hard choices.
In planning, hope often crowds out critical thinking as leaders chase the next project as the imagined fix. Seen in publishing’s “green awning effect,” this bias favours new ideas over hard lessons from history. Better strategy comes from learning what already failed.
Critical thinking is vital but demanding. It isn’t fixed; it’s built through practice. Time for deep thought, less multitasking, patience, writing, and wide reading sharpen judgment, creativity, and the development of original, valuable ideas.
Although we cannot know what tomorrow brings, we can use a pattern recognition approach to lower risk and devise stronger strategies. This is because while it is nearly impossible for us to predict one specific future, we can confidently position for multiple probable futures.
When managers fall into the sunk cost fallacy, more data rarely helps because the problem is emotional, not rational. Biases like ego, loss aversion, and optimism drive persistence. Awareness, governance, and decisive leadership matter more than analysis alone.
Ever get the sense that the meeting you are in is more about appearances than actions? Find that people keep on raising decision items that were already settled? Notice irrelevant issues dominate the agenda? Quite possibly an aspiring CIA operative is sabotaging your meeting.
Informal leadership is most effective when conducted with a small number of closed ties (involving three people) and a mix of friendship- and task-orientated activities. When the ties are open (involving only two people) or become too numerous, informal leadership begins to break down and can hinder