In the November 2019 issue of McKinsey Quarterly, McKinsey describes three characteristics that leaders need to have to make their organizations flourish in today’s world. As they argue in their article “Answering Society’s Call: A New Leadership Imperative,” society increasingly demands transparency, empathy and meaning from their leaders. Whether this demand is really new, as…
How often are you completely relaxed, do you do things exactly the way you want them to do and are you completely in control? Probably less often than you would like. And how often do you feel stressed, insecure and lived by others? Probably more often than you would like. You are not the only…
Some people today feel the world is becoming increasingly stressful and difficult to grasp and cope with, both privately and in business. They see the world getting more volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) and experience a constant pressure to perform. For entrepreneurs this is a challenge. They need to constantly keep up with what is going on in their markets and broader environment. But…
In this age of fake news, information overload and social media stress, we easily lose our sensible selves. We stress out and do, feel, say and think exponentially strange things (see this post for some examples). This applies to political and corporate leaders, but just as well to managers, employees, students and anyone else. With so much…
Two weeks ago I launched my first so-called self-help book: No More Bananas: How to Keep Your Cool in the Collective Madness. It is a book that offers practical advice for staying calm and confident in today’s stressful world of social media and information overload. Even though very well-intended, I realize that its effect may be quite limited.…
Last month, Accenture published an interesting report, carrying the title “Striking Balance with Whole-Brain Leadership.” The gist of that report: leaders need to dramatically increase the use of the right part of their brain—the part allowing us to be creative, empathetic, self-aware and use our intuition and holistic thinking. Why? First, because today’s volatile, uncertain,…
This week is “World Well-Being Week,” the one week a year when we are stimulated to explicitly pay attention to our own well-being and that of others. Of course, that is something to pay attention to every day, but a special week like this can help to draw attention to this crucial aspect of life. Because crucial it is. In today’s overheated society,…
We’re living in pretty stressful times. We have social media to deal with, we want to be successful and happy, we want to travel, we want to buy the stuff we like, have a nice job and so on. And at the same time we hear disturbing news every day, have an unlimited amount of…
In this age of social media, fake news, individualism and information overload, the certainties we relied on in the past are gone. In our quest for assurance and support, the only seemingly dependable pillar left is other people. So we look to them. But they are unsettled too. And by looking to them, we create…
In most organizations it is leaders who are responsible for setting out the organization’s strategy. Because of their position at the top, they have insights and oversight that others in the organization don’t have. Furthermore they have the power and capabilities to make sure that the rest of the organization conforms to the strategy. Therefore, leaders…
In this series of articles on the ten myths of strategy I intend to break the ten strongest myths about strategy that circulate today—and for a long time already. The main reason is that breaking these myths can help the field move forward. After all, as long we we are clung to false beliefs, we can’t…
Learning is the motor of progress. Over time, new insights emerge that replace older ones. This is how we mature from kids to adults, how companies develop and grow and how science works. But it hardly applies to the field of strategy. Of course new insights have appeared over the years. But the level of actual…
In this age of social media and information overload we easily stress out and go bananas. Reclaim your calm and confident self with this book. Don’t wait. Get started now with the first step.
Discover the first step of your journey out of Bananaland and learn five practical remedies to calm down. Get simple tips for substantially reducing your information intake. Recognise your vicious thinking cycles, channel your thoughts and get ready for the rest of your journey. All packed together in your one free chapter!
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