Blog | Recent Posts
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Is Systemic Versus Individual A False Dichotomy?
Nick Chater and George Loewenstein’s book, It’s On You, looks at how attempts to drive attention to the actions of individuals diverts attention from the need to change systems. Strangely, although I suspect I agree with the authors on a lot of what they say about the need to change systems, I was disappointed after…
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Teaching Is Marketing
I was reading a book on teaching the other day and it occurred to me that teaching is marketing. Many of the same things that make for a great teacher are also what make for a great marketer. Teaching Matters (Or At Least It Should Do) A peculiarity of being a professor at a research…
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The Learning Organization And Sustainability
The Fifth Discipline is a book that focuses on the importance of organizational learning. Coming from a systems perspective, it takes the view that we are so much more collectively than individually. Solving problems requires getting beyond simplistic explanations, e.g., Fred is incompetent, to more realistic and rounded views, e.g., Fred might be incompetent but…
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How To Stop Tech Platforms Getting Worse?
Cory Doctorow’s Enshittification takes a very critical view of tech platforms. He consciously uses mildly offensive terminology while making points about how the tech that we experience has followed a specific pattern. Sadly it is a negative pattern; the tech platforms have us trapped and give a progressively worse offering. A few years ago I…
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Why Are We Doing This?
Some of the big questions in the world are “why are we here” and “why are we doing this”? One of the professors from my MBA has a book that mirrors his course getting students to think through the big questions of life and how they relate to stakeholder business. Thinking About The Ultimate Questions…
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Give Purpose A Chance
In a final post on Eric Ries’ great book Incorruptible I will share a key idea, give purpose a chance. Enhanced Business Judgment Directors in a company are often allowed to use their judgment as to what is in the best interests of the company. Of course, there are limits — the directors can’t just…
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Defying Financial Gravity
Eric Ries’ book, Incorruptible, centers around the challenge of mainitaining a purpose. The (mostly) villain of the piece is the way business is currently done, specifically how it is funded. He calls this financial gravity. So how do we go about defying financial gravity without having to watch dubious movies? Financial Gravity What then is…
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Shareholder Primacy Is Baffling
I must confess I wasn’t sure when I approached the new Eric Ries book. From what I had seen he seemed a bit like a self-help guru for entrepreneurs. My assumption was completely unfair. He has an important book, Incorruptible, aimed primarily at founders. it details how they can create and, critically maintain, great companies…
