I once worked in a large bureaucratic organisation. I was struck by many aspects of the toxic culture, but one aspect of the experience remains with me to this day. Many people in the organisation appeared visibly much older than the age they actually were. It didn’t take long to figure out why and it had nothing to do with genetics or environmental pollution, but everything to do with caged lifeforce. It led to an effect I call the “Reverse Dorian Gray” effect. Before I explain what this is, a very quick recap of Oscar Wilde’s Dorian Gray may help (skip if you know it already).
Rare Breeds don’t get what they want by adapting to the conventional rules: instead, they use the traits often considered shortcomings as tools for creation and growth. We welcome the author of Rare Breed: A Guide to Success for the Defiant, Dangerous, and Different, Sunny Bonnell
Just as an organization should explore new business models, a bee population explores new hive locations. My point in sharing this analogy is both to emphasise how there is always a small percentage who search for alternatives but also to highlight how the scout bee communicates and sells her idea.
Flux challenges your assumptions and expectations in ways that enable you to lean into the future with hope rather than fear, and with clarity and confidence anchored in what makes you, you.
We welcome the author of Flux, 8 Superpowers for Thriving in Constant Change, April Rinne
author of “The Age of Heretics: A History of the Radical Thinkers Who Reinvented Corporate Management” and the earlier subtitle was Heroes, Outlaws, and the Forerunners of Corporate Change, it is a phenomenal book, one of many by today’s guest, Art Kleiner
Life’s animating force compels us to evolve, but unlike the crab and the caterpillar, many of us ignore that inner calling to change. We often hear the whispers in moments of silence: a walk in the wilderness, a moment in the shower, a vacant stare in the distance. We silence the internal voice with busyness, to-do lists, important-but-not-urgent tasks, entertainment, the contents of the fridge, anything but unearthing our destiny. Instead of changing, we cling to the familiar, even though we are compelled to evolve.
It is critical to realise that our schemas, these mental shortcuts, while beneficial can produce biases and prejudices that often obscure the truth. As our recent guest on the Innovation Show, Elliot Aronson told us, “Unless we recognize our cognitive limitations we will be enslaved by them.”
We welcome the author of, “Radical Empathy, Finding A Path to Bridging Racial Divides”, Terri Givens.
leaders are time-strapped, but a major part of transformation efforts includes leaders making time to provide the extrinsic motivation necessary to kindle the intrinsic motivation that may have extinguished inside your people.
Our guest is the author of “Behemoth, Amazon Rising Power and Seduction in the Age of Amazon”, Robin Gaster
He explores plenty of questions:
Where did Amazon come from?
How did it grow so big so fast?
What can we learn from the history?
Can we distill key lessons about objectives, strategy, tactics, and especially corporate culture?
Where is Amazon going?
What will it look like ten years from now?
What should we – the collective we – do about it?
Is Amazon a threat? Should we simply applaud?
Are there characteristics to worry about?
And if so, what should we do?