Organisational success depends on leaders making smart decisions. And sometimes, that’s to delegate that decision to someone else. If you’ve worked with senior leaders who insist on being involved in (ahem, ‘making’) every decision in the organisation, you’ll know how frustrating, disempowering and unproductive it is. I’ve seen it at close hand, and it’s incredibly destructive. Perhaps like me, you’ve spent too long over some decisions that aren’t ultimately worth that amount of energy. As I’ve discovered, there are a… Read more »
Posts By: Paul Murphy
Anthropology and e-mobility – the unexpected connection!
August 26 2022Highlights: Young leader traits for 2022. Coming to grips with the new normal. Anthropology and e-mobility? Maybe the arts are a key to business leadership and innovation. The broader theme of this story is answering the question – what does it take to be a successful leader in the post-pandemic environment? You might remember a favourite acronym of mine – VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity & Ambiguity) – a term that well describes the apparent chaos and pace of change in… Read more »
Hybrid work platforms – time to take stock?
July 20 2022One major challenge of supporting a hybrid approach to working, is the increase in costs involved. This can extend to a full workspace makeover, but at the minimum it will involve software, particularly as it’s used for virtual team meetings, collaboration, and project management… And despite their dominance, there are options that are alternatives to MS Teams and zoom, and some that work with them. It’s a matter of making it fit your organisation… And it’s not straightforward – shifting… Read more »
It’s REBOOT – and time to dream again
October 19 2021Key points: WFH is now a real option, at least part-time, for many organisations. While away, many staff have been plotting a career shift, some, a drastic one. Many businesses may now have to factor in “The Great Resignation”. This will all impact on workplace design, workforce planning, and recruiting. Managers: it’s time for some new thinking. Back in 2019, a request…. Remember this scene in pre-2019? A typical employee in a typical workplace lodges a request to work from… Read more »
Does Culture REALLY eat Strategy for breakfast?
August 24 2021I originally published this piece on LinkedIn back in May 2018, including some ideas sparked by the 2018 Australian Leadership Summit. That was back when we used to attend actual events! Am re-posting it today as it’s worth a quick read if you ever wonder about the answer to this time-honoured question. Have added a couple of 2021 edits or notes… Culture has been said to eat Strategy for breakfast (or lunch!). But does it really? When around 75-80% of… Read more »
The four keys to a great post-Covid workplace reboot
August 17 2021Even if it looks in doubt again this week, there really will eventually be some sort of ongoing return to the workplace! So, are there any keys to a successful reboot? Yes, and being a ‘resilient’ could describe some features you as an executive can take into your workplace. I’ve just read Return as a muscle: How lessons from COVID-19 can shape a robust operating model for hybrid and beyond, authored by four partners at McKinsey. It’s very consistent with… Read more »
Leading through 2021 – more pivoting!
January 27 2021What, more pivoting?? Some colleagues felt ‘pivot’ was one of our over-used words in 2020. In fact, one named it their least favourite 2020 word (mine was ‘seeding’, awfully overdone by politicians in particular). But if 2020 was indeed the year to pivot, what is 2021 to be? Of course for a start, it depends on the circumstances for any person, business, organisation or nation. Consider: The volatility of operating environments. The susceptibility of changes to funding or income streams…. Read more »
What’s the strategy as COVID-19 changes things forever?
April 24 2020How should we shift our thinking right now to position for the lasting impact of COVID-19 on how we live and work? 4-5 weeks into the massive time-out forced on the whole world, we already have the opportunity for insight into this. FastCompany asked leading executives, venture capitalists, and analysts for thoughts on the change they expect to see ahead. AGILITY and ADAPTABILITY are going to be key, for us personally, and for business and workplaces. If you’re not already,… Read more »
From ‘alternating monologues’ to a dialogue!
March 19 2020At a time when the whole world seems to be under siege, good communication is perhaps more important than ever. When in communication with colleagues / associates, the ideal scenario would be that BOTH parties are wanting to move towards a satisfactory outcome. As we know, it sadly isn’t always that way. If you think of a recent discussion that didn’t reach a satisfactory (to both) conclusion, it could be that it wasn’t really a dialogue, but a… Read more »
Boards now seeing Culture as the big merger success factor.
August 22 2019Boards now seeing Culture as the big merger success factor. We’ve noted for some time that Strategy is number 1, but Culture eats it for breakfast, and the good news is that the Director community is increasingly coming out and clearly identifying the importance of culture. While this may be partly in relation to directors responding to tighter regulation and the impact of royal commissions on directors’ duties, it also just makes good business sense. It was clear again at… Read more »
