The Cynefin Framework is central to Cognitive Edge methods and tools. It allows executives to see things from new viewpoints, assimilate complex concepts, and address real-world problems and opportunities. Using the Cynefin framework can help executives sense which context they are in so that they can not only make better decisions but also avoid the [...]

In any organisation, the way that people work together contributes to performance and results. But what influences the way people work together? In spite of many who would prefer to think otherwise it seems less to do with senior managers and directors moving in mysterious ways and more to do with the quality and style [...]

Here is an animated audio presentation by Dan Pink illustrating ideas from his latest book, Drive. Example? “As soon as the task calls for more than rudimentary cognitive skill – money doesn’t motivate”. It’s not just Dan thinking that management by control has its limits – Gary Hamel writes here about “the widening fault lines [...]

Whether this is a sign that the coaching bandwagon has finally ground to a halt I’m not sure, and I know this is resurrecting an old joke, but it does seem as if team learning – like reincarnation – is making a big comeback at the moment. The plane above is the American F-86 Sabre, [...]

A lot of work these days is done via project teams – more often than not team members are drawn from different departments, different business units and different organisations and often there is no formal leader. How does the team get a sense of how it is performing in such circumstances? Here is a method [...]

Flickr don’t employ librarians to categorise photos – instead they are tagged by users which means there is no need to employ a “professional class” to do the job. Could this be, by any chance, a sign that we have reached the beginning of the end of getting things done where the default choice is [...]

Janine Benyus has a message for inventors: When solving a design problem, look to nature first. There you’ll find inspired designs for making things waterproof, aerodynamic, solar-powered and more. Here she reveals dozens of new products that take their cue from nature with spectacular results.

From Rob Freeth via Dave Snowden, here’s a strategy for engaging others in creating change – change by design if you like – that doesn’t require control, rules, regulations… or consultants for that matter.

Destination Open Innovation may sound like a space shuttle mission but it was actually a unique event held at the University of Hull which aimed to encourage cross-business idea-sharing. Run in collaboration with Castleton Consulting, the University of Hull, Yorkshire Water and the Environmental Technologies Centre of Industrial Collaboration (ETCIC) at the University, the project [...]

Here is Dan Pink chipping away at management, paying for performance and making the case for “There’s a mismatch between what science knows and what business does”. 18 minutes long but well worth a view…