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Showing posts from 2013
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I will spend the day preparing for a really fun day in Stockholm.

Starting a New Business - the Systems Thinking Way

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I am starting a new business. I am not giving up my work as a business advisor, but I do need a change of pace. Ten years of working to improve other people's businesses have taken a toll. You might think "a change of pace" means I want to slow down. On the contrary, I want to speed up. The very, very slow, cumbersome, and obsolete systems and processes at most companies are very difficult to adapt to. I need to do something challenging, and I need a test bed for ideas. I also happen to love photography, especially trick photography, so, I am setting up a photography business . I am of course applying Maneuver Conflict and Systems Thinking ideas to the new business. Here are some of the things I am doing differently from other photographers: To succeed in business, you need to try a bit harder, and do things other people can't or won't do. Finding a unique segment : Most photographers focus on weddings, portraiture or advertising. I focus on tri

Workshops: Values to Vision and Strategic Principles

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I am announcing four workshops in Stockholm and Gothenburg. Each workshop is limited to twelve people, and the first workshop is in just five weeks, so if you are interested in gaining an advantage over your competition, sign up now: Stockholm: Values to Vision, April 15, Stockholm Business Strategy - Principles to Practice, May 6, Stockholm Gothenburg: Values to Vision, April 22 Business Strategy - Principles, May 13 Why should you care about having a clear vision? A vision is a guiding light: The vision helps you establish a connection with your customers, it attracts the right people to your company, it sets a course to follow when developing strategy and tactics. And yet, most companies have vision statements that are bland, uninspiring, and to be frank, not very useful. In the workshop you will learn how to build a vision guided by your own values. You will learn how to use your values and your vision to shape your mission. And, you will learn

The Reality Dysfunction Draws Closer

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The Reality Dysfunction is approaching. The picture above is the theme picture for my presentation at Lean Kanban Nordic on the 12th of Mars. I'm going for the jugular with this one... You can read more about the presentation itself here .

Reality Dysfunction preview at Scrumbeers

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The audience was great - Knowledgeable, asked a lot of questions, and there was a very interesting discussion afterwards. I did a trial run for of Reality Dysfunction presentation at Scrumbeers yesterday. The presentation was very well received, though it was much too long. You can read the audience comments and reactions here . The Scrumbeers gatherings are always fun. This time, it was also very, very useful. The feedback I got will enable me to make the final presentation even more fun, and shorter. Lots shorter. My presentations tend to be about as long as a Hollywood movie. I need to cut this one down to 35 minutes or less before I present at the Lean Kanban Nordic conference on the 12th of Mars. I'd like to thank the audience not just for being very interested, kind, and fun to spend time with, but also for giving me lots of useful feedback. I am looking forward to the next Scrumbeer.

The Reality Dysfunction - Presentation at Stop Starting, Start Finishing

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The nice people running the Stop Starting, Start Finishing conference in Stockholm the 12-13 of Mars 2013 asked me if I was interested in holding a presentation. Of course I am. I am hard at work on my presentation. Here is what I am going to talk about: Tempo!: The Reality Dysfunction Henrik Mårtensson Henrik Mårtensson How did we end up with so many dysfunctional companies? To fix the problems we face today, we must understand the causes.  Tempo!: The Reality Dysfunction is a romp through the wild side of management history: It starts with a bang, a train crash the 5th of October 1841, with consequences that cause companies to fail in 2013. You will meet the unbeatable fighter pilot, who also figured out how to build an unbeatable organization. You will see what managers must know to lead an Agile development team. You will see how most companies are applying fundamental principles of strategy, psychology, and physics backwards, and hurt and disable themselves in t

Logical Thinking Process course by Bill Dettmer in Finland

Bill Dettmer will hold a course in The Logical Thinking Process in Finland on the 3-5 of April, and the 8-10 of April. Here is a link . Bill is a well known management and leadership expert. He has written several very good books. I heartily recommend his book The Logical Thinking Process . Though I have never met Bill, we have corresponded via email. When I wrote my first book, Tempo!, Bill was very helpful and encouraging. In case you are wondering: The Logical Thinking Process is a method for solving problems. You can use it in business, or your private life. TLTP is great for facilitating communication and understanding. It beats long boring Word documents or bullet riddled Powerpoint presentations hands down. I often use it to visualize problems, to help my customers generate solutions, and to communicate and test solutions before implementing them. The tools are simple to use and very effective.