Personal development & innovation

Have you ever considered using innovation opportunities to develop your talent and organization at the same time? Read below on how to use innovation activities as an effective way to groom your high-potential talent. Personal development training I learned a lot from the personal development training I received when I joined Fluor Corp for my […]

Lead change or follow

Lead change

With the coronavirus pandemic, change is a given. The question is, will you follow or will you lead change and take charge of the process and your destination? The time commitment will be the same, but the experience and the outcomes are vastly different. Leading change is much more rewarding than adjusting to change. The […]

Address fault lines

3 Ways to prevent faultlines from breaking up in a time of crisis

Is the coronavirus causing the faultlines in your organization to break up? For example, because one department is overwhelmed trying to manage the crisis, while another department is looking for meaningful activities to stay busy. Yet, these groups are not able to help each other because of different skillsets and perhaps mistrust. The team literature […]

The Value of Feeling Valued

Employees are the most precious resource in law firms, engineering firms, hospitals and all other professional service organizations. Professionals are paid well, and value their paycheck. Yet, just paying your employees well is not sufficient to keep them happy. As study after study has shown, employees who feel valued perform better and stick around longer. […]

Customer discovery for mature companies; 6 lessons-learned

When I coach, I am often asked, “do you think this is a good idea?”. My answer is always the same, “Does my opinion matter?”. It does not. Only your clients can tell you whether something is a good or bad idea. The process of customer discovery – to figure out what your clients need […]

Building a Sustainable and Humming Innovation Engine

Margaret Cary and Floortje Blindenbach-Driesssen recently published an article about how to build a sustainable and humming innovation engine in the Journal of Medical Practice Management, which we hope you will enjoy reading.

A Whole New Doctor

Jack Penner and Margaret Cary co-founded A Whole New Doctor, a vertical leadership program to create physicians for tomorrow. The stunning problem they are addressing in their leadership program: When they start medical school, medical students are happier than their peers When they finish, they show higher rates of depression.

Smarter Teams

Are some teams smarter than others? Have you also taken part in teams that are completely dysfunctional? Do you perhaps also had the fortune of working in a very effective team? What makes the difference?

Why Nations Fail—and Organizations Too

The book Why Nations Fail answers the question that has stumped experts for centuries: Why are some nations rich and others poor? Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson show that man-made political and economic institutions underlie economic success (or the lack of it). To what extent does this also explain the success and failure of organizations?

10 Innovation Management Dilemmas for Law Firms

For senior management of law firms, 10 innovation management dilemmas. Do you know how to address each of these dilemmas? We are giving hints, but some answers lead to more questions. Addressing these dilemmas will help you building a great and innovative law firm.

Imagineering

Imagineering is the design and development arm of the Walt Disney Company. It is the methodology used to create the magic in each Disney theme park and kingdom worldwide. Although few professionals will consider their job entertaining, there are a few lessons to be learned from the Imagineering concept.

Professional Service Firms: Innovate Inside

In 2004, Suzanne Lowe, wrote in bloomberg business week a blog about innovation in professional service firms. In the blog, she outlines why it is important, and how to incentivize innovation. Now, 10 years later, her call seems even more relevant, with opportunities such as social media (LinkedIn), big data and an abundance of information. Can professional service organizations afford to wait another 10 years with innovating?