Paul Krugman’s NY Times article, Easy Useless Economics, brings to light a very important principle for problem solving—make sure you have identified the problem so you’re not wasting energy solving symptoms. Perhaps a simple example will help explain. Consider that the computer screen remains black when you press the on-button. What do you do? [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Critical Thinking’
Lost in the Leaves
Posted in Economy, Problem Solving, Systems Thinking, tagged Leadership, Economy, Problem Solving, Systems Thinking, Decision-making, Critical Thinking, Business of business on May 25, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Cost as Cause or Outcome
Posted in Leadership, Progress, Systems Thinking, Management, tagged Business of business, Critical Thinking, Decision-making, Leadership, management, Progress, Quality, Systems Thinking on May 16, 2012 | 1 Comment »
To hear the talk of these days it would seem that to the business minded, costs are to be cut to the bone if not avoided altogether. So let’s consider what different minded leaders might do in regards to costs.
Parasite Or Partner
Posted in Economy, Leadership, Morality/Ethics, partnership, Quality, tagged Business of business, Critical Thinking, Economy, human spirit, Leadership, Moral Values, partnership, Progress, Quality, relationships, Systems Thinking on May 8, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Doing More For Less (of us) Getting the most out of people is not a bad thing but in the extreme it translates into squeezing the life out of them. As Deming exclaimed, “beat horses and they will run faster—for a while.” Doing more with less implies squeezing more and more out of people until [...]
Not All Data Are Valid
Posted in Leadership, Management, Problem Solving, Quality, Systems Thinking, tagged Critical Thinking, Decision-making, Leadership, management, Problem Solving, Quality, Systems Thinking on April 30, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Many people—probably with the exclusion of politicians—have come to believe data based decision-making is the way to effective action. In the words of Lord Kelvin, “to measure is to know” and so if our decisions and actions are to be directed by knowledge—not just by what we believe—then we must base them on data. While [...]
Transcend Self-Interest
Posted in Leadership, Life, Progress, Relationships, tagged Critical Thinking, Culture, Development of Self, Economy, human spirit, Leadership, partnership, Progress, relationships, Systems Thinking on April 10, 2012 | 1 Comment »
There seems to be a growing acceptance of the notion that we each are free independent individuals and as a consequence we not only can, but also should, order life in society accordingly. Being free independent individuals necessarily means people can freely do as they please or more specifically that they should do as [...]
Capitalism’s Morality
Posted in Economy, Life, Morality/Ethics, tagged Business of business, Critical Thinking, Culture, Economy, Ethical Principles, Moral Values on March 17, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
In an article titled “The difference between private and public morality” Robert Reich states the “economy is built on a foundation of shared morality.” So where is shared morality addressed among the precepts of our economic system? Though Reich notes, Adam Smith considered himself a moral philosopher—writing Theory of Moral Sentiments—I must add he also [...]
Mindset Not Market Failure
Posted in Change, Economy, Life, Problem Solving, Systems Thinking, tagged Business of business, Change, Critical Thinking, Decision-making, Economy, Education, human spirit, Leadership, Moral Values, partnership, relationships, Systems Thinking on February 25, 2012 | 1 Comment »
In an article on Harvard Business Review Blog, titled U.S. Companies Versus the U.S. Economy, Thomas Kochan (of MIT Sloan School of Management) argues the disconnect between U.S. companies and the U.S. economy is the result of market failure. While the management of each business corporation makes decisions believing the unit of survival is the [...]
Divest or Invest
Posted in Leadership, Management, Progress, tagged Business of business, Critical Thinking, Leadership, Learning, management, Progress, Systems Thinking on February 19, 2012 | 3 Comments »
Profit can be realized in the short-term by divesting and over the long term by investing. In the former management cuts costs, most likely by firing people and/or squeezing more out of those who remain. Because you can only squeeze people so much before the lifeblood of the people and the business runs out, this [...]
Time to Get Heretical
Posted in Change, Economy, Life, Progress, tagged Business of business, Change, Critical Thinking, Economy, human spirit, Problem Solving, Progress, Quality, Systems Thinking on January 28, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Capitalism is so much held in reverence that for some it is like a religion. In fact people proudly proclaim I’m a capitalist! Seemingly it provides the guiding principle for behavior and thus the basis for how to structure life. In effect (putting their faith in capitalism) people have allowed the pursuit of (personal) wealth [...]
Rethinking a Fixed System
Posted in Change, Economy, Life, Problem Solving, Progress, Quality, tagged Business of business, Change, Critical Thinking, Decision-making, Economy, human spirit, Leadership, Learning, Moral Values, partnership, Problem Solving, Progress, Quality, relationships, Systems Thinking on January 21, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Is the system broken? No, not at all! It is fixed just as desired. Our economic system has no (explicit) concern for ‘we’ in its design, it is all about ‘me’ getting what I can for ‘myself’—it is best labeled an egoistic economic system. The pursuit of material self-interest is the guiding principle for [...]
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