“The greatest of faults, I should say, is to be conscious of none.” — Thomas Carlyle In the early 1900s, a German schoolteacher named Wilhelm von Osten toured Europe with his amazing horse, Clever Hans. Hans could apparently solve math problems and even read German, tapping out answers with his hoof to the delight of crowds. A government […]

“We are waves of the same sea, leaves of the same tree, flowers of the same garden.” — Seneca “Why did you say ‘brother’ to people who aren’t your brother?” [Referring to how I addressed people at The Reinvention Summit]. My son’s breakfast-time question hung in the air, innocent yet profound. How could I explain this ingrained

“You will act like the sort of person you conceive yourself to be.” — Maxwell Maltz “The external world is an echo of your internal world.” — Tom Asacker Organizations, like individuals, are guided by self-image. They act not based on external reality, but on what they believe themselves to be. If a company sees itself as an industrial manufacturer, it

“If you give a ton of gold to an ant, it will only crush the ant.” — Sadhguru The fastest route to innovation is not through resourcing. You can’t throw money, people, and infrastructure at a problem and expect it to disappear. Yet, that’s exactly what many organisations do. Like a child handed every toy at once,

“In most companies there would be months, perhaps years, of savage debate… The spectre of cannibalisation would roam the hallways, striking fear into fainthearted executives.” — Gary Hamel [TL;DR Some companies struggle to kill off profitable but customer-hostile revenue streams, fearing short-term losses. But clinging to a fading model often proves more costly than the pivot itself. From

“If we only defend, we lose the war.” — Kambei Shimada, Seven Samurai (1954) I was incredibly lucky to play for two of the best attacking rugby teams in the world — Toulouse and Leinster. Toulouse, in particular, had a deep-rooted culture of attacking rugby, a philosophy that didn’t rely on grinding out wins through defense alone. Instead, the club

Mark Twain is credited with the quote, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” I find this quote incredibly relevant as we dive deep into the work of thought leaders who have studied the fate of companies and industries for decades. It is a privilege to explore the research of Michael Tushman, Charles O’Reilly,

This week’s Thursday Thought is dedicated to Ian Morrison, rest in peace Ian! The Phoenix is one of the most enduring symbols of renewal, resilience, and reinvention. According to ancient myth, this magnificent bird, after living for centuries, builds its own funeral pyre and willing walks into the flames, burns itself up and from the ashes

“If you want to know if the elephant at the zoo has a stomachache, don’t ask the veterinarian, ask the cage cleaner.” — Robert Sapolsky The best insights often come from the least expected places. The people who clean up the mess, fix the day-to-day problems, or interact directly with customers are usually the first to notice when

“Organisations invariably tend to reward some employees for A while hoping for B, frequently do not detect the contradiction, and then are bewildered when their behaviour and performance are not aligned with their goals.”- Steve Kerr “Traditional ‘carrot and stick’ incentives can achieve exactly the opposite of their intended aims.” — Dan Pink Guinness For Strength. Picture Post, 1954 If