Tag: tipping point

Latest Read: HBR’s 10 Must Reads 2025

Post author By Don Kasprzak
Post date January 1, 2025
No Comments on Latest Read: HBR’s 10 Must Reads 2025

HBR’s 10 Must Reads 2025: The Definitive Management Ideas of the Year from Harvard Business Review.

In the closing days of 2023 I was reading HBR’s 10 Must Reads for 2024. This was a good indicator of management ideas for the coming new year. A year later, closing 2024 seems perfect to begin 2025 with HBR’s annual refresh.

This book is for both new and experienced leaders seeking insights, inspiration, and advice to propel their organizations forward in the new year.

Perhaps no other topic is the continuing role of AI impacting organizations last year and the coming impact of AI Agents. Perhaps their 2026 Must Reads will expand upon the growth of agents we will engage this year.

Why? The chapter ‘Reskilling in the Age of AI’ acknowledged ChatGPT’s impact was not predicted. As a result computer automation was already set to displace and transform the global workforce. Now LLMs, Agents, and ML will perhaps drive those numbers even higher. The message: Reskilling will be a focal point for organizations to thrive in an AI-driven environment. Yet the advice includes the challenge that organizational ups killing simply will not be enough. Worth the read alone especially for colleges and training centers.

Tags Artificial Intelligence, culture, Innovation, Management Ideas, tipping point, trends

Education Innovation Reading

Latest Read: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Post author By Don Kasprzak
Post date June 8, 2024

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni.

Pat holds a BA in Economics and Spanish from Claremont McKenna College. He is President of the Table Group, and previously worked at Bain & Company, Oracle Corporation and was a former Vice President of Organizational Development at Sybase.

Regardless of where you work, even if your are a one person consultant or new startup, you will benefit from Pat’s book. This is about engaging people to achieve outcomes. Should this be your consultancy or new product, your future will in part be influenced by the people you engage.

This is a long time bestseller for a damn good reason. In fact, we see teams as a group of individuals striving to achieve success in perfect sync with one another and their individual daily tasks. However Pat is able to analyze the fundamental causes of why teams fail, their projects do not result in closure and the impact of organizational politics

Pat outlines identifies five interrelated dysfunctions that can undermine team performance which hinder team effectiveness and performance:

Absence of Trust:
Perhaps the most difficult to confront within any team is their unwillingness to trust one another regardless of how long they have worked together.

Fear of Conflict:
Teams without trust will result in limited discussions on their project contributions. The free flow of conversations is required to be successful. You must engage your team at 100 percent.

Tags change, culture, Innovation, Management Ideas, tipping point

Education Innovation Reading

Latest Read: HBR Guide to Making Every Meeting Matter

Post author By Don Kasprzak
Post date May 28, 2024

HBR Guide to Making Every Meeting Matter by Harvard Business Review.

Do you work within an organization that is meeting driven? Sometimes it can seem that every decision regardless of place in a project requires a face to face meeting, in person or online. Many times however results can be addressed via email.

Yet when meetings are indeed the best course of action, this book provides the overlooked simplicity to transform the ‘regular’ meeting (which is often ineffective into very productive working sessions.

This book does in fact address very common challenges employees face. In fact many can say first hand they have experienced meetings that felt made little effort for the amount of time set aside for multiple employees.

There are very valuable lessons to learn that can empower employees to move the needle. If you feel this sounds a bit off, then perhaps you cannot recall how a well planned meeting by anyone well verses in running meetings and controlling the discussions by simply presenting an agenda will leave you wondering why have you not engaged well run meetings all long?

Tags culture, meeting, organizational leadership, tipping point

Education Innovation Reading

Latest Read: Building Better Organizations

Post author By Don Kasprzak
Post date May 25, 2024

Building Better Organizations: How to Fuel Growth and Lead in a Digital Era by Claudy Jules.

Claudy holds an MS in Organization Development from American University, an MS in Management from University of Maryland College Park and a PhD in Organizational Behavior from Case Western Reserve University.

Initially he led Google’s Center of Excellence on Organizational Health and Change. He moved to Managing Director at Accenture Strategy, then jumping back as an advisory for Alphabet’s CapitalG. Today is a Partner at McKinsey.

Here, Claudy reveals a rather essential read for organizations to discover or better understand how a playbook can help drive success when deploying well designed digital strategies that positively impacts the organization, employees and ultimately their customers regardless of market.

Regardless of the length of engagements with digital transformations, organizations simply must get their elements planned correctly. This obviously begins with strategy. The organization must have the right leadership in place to drive digital transformation. They must also have or develop employees with the talents to make the transformation a success. Much of this can fail if the organization’s culture will not support change. This is especially true in today’s new digital transformation by AI.

Tags Claudy Jules, culture, digital culture, Innovation, organization mission, tipping point

Artificial Intelligence Education Innovation Reading

Latest Read: HBR Guide to AI Basics for Managers

Post author By Don Kasprzak
Post date July 29, 2023

HBR Guide to AI Basics for Managers by Harvard Business Review. The ‘HBR Guide’ series offers articles addressed in multiple sections. This is not a single author’s interpretation.

Published in January 2023 this Guide is critical for managers regardless of organization, vertical market, or seniority within executive teams. In fact, prior to the pandemic AI had already shifted the fundamentals of business and society. Many to this day never saw it coming and this Guide is mandatory.

While business as usual is often overstated, our post pandemic world shifted so rapidly and radically, that organizations will simply fail if they do not adopt. In more and more business cases, the adopt or die mindset will continue to become painfully evident as consolidation, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures (MAD) only accelerate via AI solutions.

For managers the Introduction is aiming squarely at your future: How AI Will Redefine Management is not to be taken lightly. However in the presented articles the adoption of which cannot be overstated, miss the fundamentals of AI changing your organization, and you might as well begin refreshing your resume. For the CEO or President, this will empower you to drive change long desired but slowed by organization’s noise. And you will have to address your supporters, detractors and fence sitters to get the AI ball rolling.

Tags Artificial Intelligence, Innovation, tipping point