For over 1000 years Icelandic farmers have had a symbiotic relationship with eider ducks. They create shelters (‘Skjól’) for the birds to keep out predators. In May and June, the birds arrive to lay their eggs in these man-made sanctuaries, while farmers keep a watchful eye over them. After the eggs hatch and the birds leave to return to fishing, the farmers collect the down lining in the abandoned nests and process it into the most desirable natural materials for bedding. […]
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Yogi Berra, the famous NY Yankee catcher once said, “when you come to a fork in the road, take it.” Organizations today stand at a crossroads to sustained performance. One path is familiar, following the lead of financial return and efficiency metrics; it is about keeping “feet on the ground”.[…]
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As legend has it, John Henry was a steel-driving man who defeated a steam-powered drill, before collapsing and dying with a hammer in his hand.[…]
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A critical function of leadership is to ask questions and not settle for answers. This protects uncertainty as a space for curiosity and imagination. When there are too many answers provided and too few questions asked, things stagnate and the atmosphere stifles. Protecting uncertainty is akin to keeping a window open for light and fresh air, maintaining a sense of opportunity and the ambiguity that keeps the spirit of humanity as a search for meaning[…]
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Ask not what the ecosystem can do for you, but what you can do for the ecosystem. In the ‘paradox
Continue reading“First, let’s fire all the managers” said Gary Hamel almost seven years ago in Harvard Business Review. “Think of the
Continue readingIn the 1930s, a group of Hollywood executives tried to entice Samuel Goldwyn to join them in a project. Upon
Continue readingQuick. Name ten entrepreneurs. Those pulling from recent history might easily name Steve Jobs, Jack Ma, Robin Chase, Mark Zuckerberg.
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