Two Sensemaker® projects to understand opposites on the generational spectrum

Complexity and adaptive leadership, Leadership, Narrative, sensemaker

More Beyond is partnering with KLA on two open Sensemaker® based research projects to understand how South Africans on opposite ends of the generational spectrum view the future. The first project was done in partnership with The Refirement Network and seeks to understand how South Africans over 45 think about their next season. We are […]

Recent Sensemaker project roundup

Insights, Methods and practices, Narrative, sensemaker

Over the last year we've had the opportunity to do a couple of really interesting Sensemaker projects. For those who are interested in South African cases, here's a summary: Financial services: We have gotten a lot of traction in the customer insights space, specfically in the financial services industry. This industry operates in a very […]

Dave Snowden at TedX: A succinct overview of his groundbreaking work

Change, Complexity and adaptive leadership, Cynefin, Narrative, sensemaker

I first met Dave in 2002 when we were both employed by IBM. I remember experiencing an immediate resonance with his work, especially the inherent integrity of honoring context and not mindlessly applying best-practice recipes as the big consultancies tend to do. It is now 16 years later, and it has been a privilege to […]

If you want to innovate, don't say so

agility, Cynefin, Metaphor, Methods and practices, Narrative, Teams

"Innovation is not so much about having ideas as it is about making connections" Harold Jarche Last week I had the opportunity to facilitate a week-long "innovation sprint" for Agile 42, an international agile coaching company. After recovering from my time spent facilitating 39 other facilitators (on my own!) I finally had time to reflect on […]

Avoiding incorrect expectations: positioning Sensemaker®

Methods and practices, Narrative, sensemaker

As the Sensemaker® approach gains traction in the market, more and more people are attempting to convince others to use it. So whether you are trying to sell it internally (e.g. to your insights team) or to a client, here are a few tips to ensure that it is positioned properly (especially in relation to other […]

What I learned from speaking at TedX

General musings, Meaning and purpose, Narrative

Last year, while browsing my LinkedIn feed I came across TedX Pretoria's call for speakers. On the spur of the moment, I decided to nominate myself, never really considering the consequences if I was actually accepted. A couple of weeks later I received the email that my nomination had been successful, and promptly had a "what were you […]

Enabling (vs mandating) change

agility, Change, Complexity and adaptive leadership, Narrative, sensemaker

One of the intractable problems that seem face most companies is effecting real and lasting change across the entire organisation. Many organisations are littered with failed change initiatives and more and more it seems that traditional change management methodologies are failing. Most large organisations seem to be profoundly stuck when it comes to enabling change; plagued with stories […]

The story of SenseMaker® in UNDP Eastern Europe and CIS

Complexity and adaptive leadership, Narrative, sensemaker

A very useful blog by Tony Quinlan posted on the Cognitive Edge site. The real value is in following the links and reading about the various UNDP Sensemaker® sites. The story of SenseMaker® in UNDP Eastern Europe and CIS.

What I believe to be true about organisational culture

Complexity and adaptive leadership, Narrative

A client asked me to write down some thoughts about a complexity based approach to culture. I thought I'd go ahead and publish some of my initial thoughts here as well. (I've woven together my own ideas with those of Dave Snowden & Dr Chene Swart - so much credit to them!) Thinking about culture from a […]

Building the adaptive core of your organisation

agility, Change, Complexity and adaptive leadership, Innovation, Meaning and purpose, Narrative

A discourse that has been gaining prominence in business nowadays is around adaptive and resilient organisations. Some of the world's leading business thinkers like Prof Gary Hamel are making the case for adaptive capacity as being critical for businesses today. In this HBR article the authors speak of Adaptive Advantage as the new competitive edge. Similarly, resilience has been […]

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Blog - Category: Narrative