Blog

"This is the most humble day of my life". (My corporate culture has failed.)

Powerful sociology going on here. Watch as society regulates itself. Social resources are being marshalled here to test and reinforce what the people believe are the norms. In reality norms don't exist. Our beliefs that norms do exist c ... read more

Axiomatic business beliefs - What do you make of them?

What do you make of these axiomatic business beliefs?

1. “What you see is what you measure”
2. “What you measure is what you get”
3. “What gets measured, gets managed” and its converse “What doesn’t get measured, gets forgotten”
4. “If you don’t measure results, you can’t tell success from f ... read more

Gimme the beer, I’m outa here!

So said Stephen Slater the JetBlue flight attendant who abandoned ’plane at JFK Airport in New York down its emergency inflatable slide triggered by him. He couldn’t leave quickly enough. In doing so he has become a bit of a Twitter and Facebook sensation. Why did he do that?

Some say it was abuse, both verbal and physical, from an arrogant passenger that ... read more

What are the bottom line values that underpin your business?

Greg Sheridan, Foreign editor The Australian July 15, 2010 writes about the values and interestingly “virtues” inherent in maintaining universal standards of human rights and focuses on “former prime minister Kevin Rudd's willingness to talk publicly about human rights in Beijing during his first visit there, and specifically to mention China's brutal misrule in Tibet” arguing that “to do so expresses our values, which are universal values, and also safeguards our interests bec ... read more

Would your team re-elect you as PM of your Company?

PM Gillard's Acceptance Speech The largest business in Australia is the Trillion Dollar Commonwealth Government. In case you didn't notice, it changed its CEO Rudd quite dramatically. The shareholders will attend the TGM (Triennial General Meeting) to confirm or reject  the decision of the directors to install the new Chairman Gillard. What an exquisite study now unfolds for examination and illustration by the cor ... read more

Melbourne Storm has an 'Organisational Culture' problem

Melbourne Storm's problem is not a salary cap problem. Craig Bellamy of the disgraced Melbourne Storm NRL club says, "But this football club has ..... great character and values ... We will not walk away from this challenge. We will stick tight together as a group and fight our way back from this." One is left to ponder what values and their beliefs really underpin this club's culture. Culture is ... read more

What values underpin the culture of the World's Leading Airline - Etihad Airways?

Yesterday, I enjoyed The Australian Institute of Company Directors and UQ Business School Leaders' Edge Luncheon with James Hogan. Australian, James Hogan, global CEO of Etihad Airways, based in Abu Dhabi, has made Etihad the fastest growing airline in aviation history. In 2009, Etihad won the title of the World’s Leading Airline at the World Travel Awards – a remarkable achievement ... read more

High doses of money won't cure sick culture. Call the doc!

Here's a powerful example of what we talk about in our consultancy. So many in business and government generally,  spend large amounts of time and money on strategy without establishing a high-trust cultural platform. Effective and sustainable strategy must be built upon a reliable cultural platform. The Courier Mail Newspaper reports today that Sir Leon Don ... read more

Prince William lists four core Aussie values

"What has struck me during this visit to the southern hemisphere is what shared heritage actually means. It really is about core values and a way of life, it really is about humour and decency and it is also about courage and an ability to face down adversity," he said. What do you list as the core values for your organisation? How do they compare with the prince's list? ... read more

Do we see what we believe; or do we believe what we see?

No, the circles are not moving! Look at the black centre of each circle and it will stop 'moving'.

So it is with our understanding of human behaviours in corporations. Our eyes do play tricks on us. In fact sociologists assert that its our cognition - our thinking, filtered through our beliefs - that drives all human behaviour. What does it mean for you and the business or organisation that ... read more