“A proposition can only be verified in terms of the paradigm or model of which it is part” — Edward Goldsmith How S. was killed by a lion The following story was documented by anthropologist Lucien Lévy-Bruhl (1) in 1928 and is used as an example of circularity in Michael Polanyi’s brilliant essay, The Stability of Beliefs. …

“ … the species that survives is the one that is able to adapt to and to adjust best to the changing environment in which it finds itself “ ― Leon C. Megginson (often incorrectly attributed to Darwin) In nature, species either adapt to their environments or become extinct. Products…

“Metaphor always creates distortions” — Gareth Morgan “Complex adaptive systems are characterised by perpetual novelty” — John H. Holland Complexity science is a logical domain for researching post-bureaucratic organisational design and development. By studying the nature of complex adaptive systems we can obtain rich insights into the nature of organisation…

“The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function.” — Albert A. Bartlett The phenomenon of exponentially accelerating technology is a relatively recent event in history, yet it is now a major driver of market dynamics. Many executives, however, are failing to factor it…

“The only constant in the strategic environment is the continuous acceleration of change …” * What it is VUCA is an acronym frequently used within the realm of Strategic Leadership, especially within the military. “VUCA” rhymes with Luka and describes an external environment that is filled with Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity: Volatility…

About Post Bureaucracy will be despatched each Monday morning, commencing 4 Jan 2021. It is a short one to two-minute read targeted at executives (1) contemplating or navigating new organisational forms: those that are agile, radically decentralised, and adaptive. The posts will be excerpts from my consulting work in Agile/Adaptive org…

In one of the most extensive business research projects ever conducted, Project Aristotle, Google found, to their surprise, that the number one driver of team performance is psychological safety. This is a gift on a plate to organisations. Want to radically improve your performance? Then simply make psychological safety a…

A true story illustrating the critical role of candour for effective teamwork. On February 24, 1989, United Flight 811 left Honolulu bound for Aukland with 355 souls onboard. Sixteen minutes after takeoff, at 22,000 feet, a grinding noise was heard, followed by a loud thud that rattled the whole aircraft…

Entrepreneurs are failing en masse in their single most important task: creating something that the market actually wants. In an orgy of hubris, billions of dollars are squandered each year on harebrained ideas that have little chance of success. Entrepreneurs and VCs could do themselves a huge favour by learning…