What does focussing on culture mean to XYZ Consulting?
By Russ Lewis. Published online October 6, 2021
We have some mid-tier consultants in at the moment who are "focussing on culture." Since we don't separate culture from delivering value to customers, I asked what that meant in practice.
'Managing Tensions not People' as transformation method research update at the end of 2023 This time last year I was searching through the ambidexterity literature for tensions other than the usual explore-exploit. I built a website to publish my progress online, which I think was a diversion! Literature research update I found more than 70 […]
The HOW of Transformation recorded at the Global Digital Transformation Summit in Berlin 2023 Summary Managers who manage tensions enjoy greater performance, especially in complex and dynamic environments. In this 36-minute talk: I tell the story of Transport for London's transformation from a one-sided fares Operator to an integrated Developer-Operator. And show how technologists using […]
I was at the digital transformation summit in Berlin last week when I got a scary "unlicensed use" email from a rights licensing lawyer. The rights licensing bot service sent me a screenshot of the page and the cartoon I was alleged to have used. I say alleged because I didn't recognise the cartoon or […]
Most ways of working still rely on functional hierarchy, where managers make decisions and workers do the work. Managers know they can't change this work structure, but they can transform its effectiveness without asking for permission and without needing a budget. Before exploring the changes that transform the way people work, we need to recognise […]
Today’s challenge is that traditional management approaches, where managers tell people what to do and how to do it, are not as effective as they once were. Agile transformation takes years, but changing management’s focus from people to tensions could be a better solution. It is simpler, faster, and considerably more cost-effective. Management is the […]
One key action: Agile Guidance for C-Suite leadership If my job title was a three-letter acronym and the first letter was a “C”, I might be un-festively fed-up with people telling me how to run my agile digital transformation. Two more ‘top ten something-or other things CEOs and CIOs should worry about’ appeared last week, […]
Contextual ambidexterity is a culture that expects exceptional performance in both innovation and operation, overturning the illusion that it is either/or. Contextual ambidexterity is agile for managers.
Another true story about the art of Agile Estimation About 14 months ago, I wrote this story card: We should sell estimation cards online, to offset the cost of producing them We gave it an estimate of 50 points as it seemed “do-able”, but no-one was exactly sure “how” to do it. Amazon was a […]