Miserly pursuits
‘Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves’. It’s nigh on impossible to reach adulthood without this old proverb burning into…
ViewPropellerheads and thwarted innovation
Back in the mid-90s, as a young engineer working for an offshore drilling contractor, I had an idea for an innovation on a…
ViewThe trouble with heroism
Executives around the world complain about spending all their time ‘putting out fires’. Even those at the sharp end often feel their effort is…
ViewHow to get the most from lessons learned
Everyone pays lip service to ‘learning lessons’ from large complex projects. But how useful are such lessons when every project is unique? The…
ViewDoes size matter?
Jeff Bezos famously said, ‘If you can’t feed a team with two pizzas, it’s too large.’ He’s got a point. The kneejerk reaction to problem-solving…
ViewKeep things simple
‘Welcome to Texas,’ said my new boss. ‘We don’t want any British bureaucracy. Just cut to the chase, so the guys will follow.’…
ViewProject value over corporate aspiration
In Ernest Hemingway’s novel The Sun Also Rises, Bill asks Mike, ‘How did you go bankrupt?’ ‘Two ways,’ Mike replies. ‘Gradually and then suddenly.’ Many executives…
ViewA little paranoia is healthy
The corporate world is awash with advice for leaders to inspire their teams to greater performance. We’re also told to embrace vulnerability and…
ViewHow much resilience do you need?
There’s an old joke about two wildlife cameramen filming a lion. When the lion spots them and takes an interest, one of them…
ViewWhy is ‘fast-tracked’ a euphemism for heroic failure?
“Management’s fast-tracked the project,” the manager said with a shrug and a wry smile. As his body language implied, ‘fast-tracked’—despite sounding important—is…
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