How to stay curious
We all know the saying that curiosity killed the cat. Yet, curious people are much more likely to pursue innovation, excel in their careers, and question assumptions that most of us take for granted. In “Curious: The Desire to Know & Why Your Future Depends on it” Ian Leslie argues that we very much need […]
How to accelerate social change
Did you know that much of the common wisdom on how to accelerate social change does not actually work? Damon Centola’s book Change: How to Make Big Things Happen unravels many of these false rules of thumb that we hold about how to make big change happen and how social networks accelerate change. To begin […]
How to use framing to make better decisions
Have you ever been in a situation where you thought you knew the facts but in hindsight, you realised that your decision how to solve the problem was based on wrong assumptions about the situation or other people’s motives? Humans are constantly using frames to figure out what is happening and why. The new book […]
Why stories matter
First of all, apologies for being so late with my blog posts, I have actually already read 3 books in the past months but somehow my time management has gotten the better of me. Not a great story to tell but, Justin Lee has actually this covered: how you are actually supposed to tell stories […]
How to Think Again
Adam Grant’s latest book Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know needs to be read by anyone who is interested in why humans refuse to change their minds even if they are fully capable doing so. The book is a call for action: a call for rethinking our opinions, blowing them up if […]
How to transform performance with thinking
David Rock’s book Quiet Leadership: Six Steps to Transforming Performance at Work has been a very insightful read. The book builds on neuroscience and even though it was published in 2007, I am still blown away by how revolutionary many of the ideas still are today. In the book, David blasts many conventional ideas and beliefs […]
How to measure what matters
In Measure What Matters: OKRs – The Simple Idea That Drives 10x Growth, John Doerr explains why measuring what matters helps you to plan, track and achieve success. It makes intuitive sense anyway: if you are not measuring your progress, how would you know that you are really hitting your goals? In a sea of […]
How to develop leadership mindshare
One of the key organisational capacities that makes a difference is how we embed leadership “mindshare” in the organisation. This relates to also how we embed visionary thinking and enable broader mindsets across the whole organisation, including how we invest in individuals. According to Johnson and Suskewicz in Lead from the Future, “Visionary organisations create […]
How to build an innovation stack
Innovation often emerges out of necessity to reach your vision. It requires insights, pivoting, dread and exhilarating moments of succeeding. The Innovation Stack: Building an Unbeatable Business One Crazy Idea at a Time by Jim McKelvey is about the journey of building Square, the most successful company in credit card transactions. Square had an original idea […]
How innovation works
In the last few months, we have been called to be innovative: to develop new routines, new ways to work, new ways to exercise, even new ways to get our groceries delivered. Much of this has been a process of collecting information, seeing what is out there, and then making decisions and hoping for the best […]