On the upper levels of management as well as in management literature, one will frequently hear the almost ritual complaint about the growing sluggishness of organizations, their lack of agility. […]
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Organizations need “context-managers”
How Purpose Drives Performance
by Jean-Philippe Courtois
“The two most important days of your life are the day you’re born and the day you understand why” – Mark Twain
Purpose matters to all of us: it’s a key factor in our physical and mental wellbeing. As humans, finding our ‘why’ is important. When we understand our purpose and live it, we make a positive difference to ourselves and to those around us, and we change the world for the better. It’s exactly the same for organizations.[…]
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Creativity encourages resilience
by Dan Pontefract
Back when we were babies, every day was an opportunity for exploration. These journeys seemed endless. At first, we explored our crib. Then, we ventured out and began to navigate the floor. Eventually, we discovered that kitchen drawers were filled with items to examine with our hands and mouths. As we began to walk, more terrains opened up to us: the velvety sand at the beach, the soft grass in the park, and the glistening snow in a field. It was continuous exploration. […]
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Prescience in the Modern World or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Wear a Helmet
by Bradley Andrews
The velvet curtain is drawn aside and you survey the room nervously while entering. The space is small and dim, lit only by soft candles emitting subtle aromas of sage. There is more purple velvet tapered to the wall, this time laced with small golden trim and accented with intricate embroidery. The air is warm, but not stuffy, and something about it seems intentionally messy. In the middle of the room sits a crystal ball. […]
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SHGs: The Underdogs enabling India’s Economic Recovery
by Abhishek Banerjee
India made a strong post-pandemic recovery, leapfrogging the UK to become the fifth largest economy in the world. This essay delves into the role that Self-Help Groups (SHGs) based in India played in achieving this remarkable turn-around. The unprecedented challenges posed by the pandemic required a major reassessment of existing management principles and strategies. […]
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Human Centric Art of Storytelling by Yoshikuni Takashige
Storytelling, the art of developing narratives, is considered one of the most needed skills in business. This is because your stories enable your colleagues and customers to intuitively understand and resonate with new business ideas, marketing messages and future visions. Storytelling is a distinct act that humans only can do. But this one of a kind status is being challenged by evolving technologies. […]
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Creative Resilience: a call to action for leadership in an age of discontinuity
by Esther Clark
“A well-led enterprise can learn to survive deep blows and still surge forward,” states HBR’s Julia Kirby in her description of the theme for the 2023 Global Peter Drucker Forum, “Creative Resilience: Leading in an Age of Discontinuity”. Learning, survival, and forward movement are fundamental elements of well-led organisations. […]
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How Haier’s Antifragile Strategy succeeds amidst disruption
by Janka Krings-Klebe & Jörg Schreiner
Adaptability and resilience are more than just industry jargon in today’s hypercompetitive business environment; they are the backbone of sustainable success. However, traditional governance systems often fail to cultivate these critical attributes, which highlights the need for more dynamic and resilient frameworks. […]
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Re-building business resilience through creative innovation
by Omar Valdez-de-Leon & Erica Moreti
After the recent events like the pandemic and conflict in Europe, with supply chains still recovering and ebullient inflation, the economic outlook for businesses has become more challenging. We’ve seen the direct effects on businesses: (1) higher operational and capital costs; and (2) weaker demand as consumers rethink their spending patterns. A key question for business leaders: Is it possible to innovate to build resilience in an era where cheap money is no longer available? The answer: Yes. […]
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Feeling our way through the changing world of work
by Alex Adamopoulos
This March, Emergn hosted an executive breakfast in partnership with the Global Peter Drucker Forum, featuring London Business School’s eminent Lynda Gratton and her latest book, Redesigning Work: How to Transform Your Organization and Make Hybrid Work for Everyone. It was nearly three years to the day since the COVID-19 pandemic took its grip, offices emptied practically overnight, and much of the world went into various degrees of lockdown.[…]
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