The Cobra Effect; Incentives and Unintended Consequences.
In the annals of governance and public policy, few stories illustrate the law of unintended consequences better than the infamous “Cobra Effect” in India. This cautionary tale offers profound lessons for leaders, especially those at the helm of private equity-backed portfolio companies, where the alignment of incentives is paramount. The story begins with a well-intentioned…
In Defence of Micromanagement
This article is meant to generate a reaction, something that surprises the reader and makes them think. Hopefully I have made my case effectively but please comment and let me know if you think differently – all respectful opinions are valued! Leadership is not just about empowering people and letting them get on with…
Designing Culture – Netflix Case Study
Netflix is a Global Internet TV Network with 70 million members broadcasting in 190 countries. They have been phenomenally successful evolving a business model that started out as ‘online film rental’ to their current subscription based streaming service. They are well known for their success with their revenues in 2015 reaching $5.5bn. What is perhaps…
3 Simple Steps to Improve your Meetings
Earlier this week, I read that AOL CEO Tim Armstrong is ‘on a quest to cut back on meetings’. http://qz.com/571436/tim-armstrong-is-on-a-quest-to-cut-back-on-meetings-at-aol/ The article talks about Tim’s efforts to ‘boost company culture and efficiency by discouraging unnecessary – and unnecessarily long – internal meetings’. Armstrong has proposed that meetings should default to 30 minutes instead of an…
What does a ‘Perfect Day’ look like?
Over the past few years, a number of people have asked me what sort of tools and techniques I use to best prepare myself to have a successful and productive day. This blog post is simply an explanation of what I do to make sure that I do everything that I need to do in…
If you are really busy then STOP – take five minutes to read this…
If you ask someone ‘how they are?’ there is a good chance that you will be met with a response that in some way alludes to how ‘busy’ they are. The world today is filled with choice and opportunities. Every single day we are presented with hundreds of opportunities, forks in the road which present…
The Trust Equation
What is ‘The Trust Equation’? The Trust Equation was first introduced in 2000 by David Maister in his book, ‘The Trusted Advisor’. I was first introduced to this concept by Greig Walker whilst working with him at Urenco. In this short article, I am going to explain the trust equation and how it is applicable…
Breaking the Silo Mentality?
Since leaving the Royal Marines, I have spent three years in industry and experienced the leadership, culture and working environment of a number of companies. One thing that has always struck me is the discussion about the ‘silo mentality’. I have heard so many people talk about it that I started to think it was…
