How Innovation Loans May Save British Manufacturing

Britain, historically, has been one of the world’s greatest leaders in terms of technological innovation, going all the way back to the Industrial Revolution. Then, the UK’s inventors and industrialists embraced ingenuity and harnessed the power of steam and kinetics to change the way the world worked. While we have moved on a lot from...

Why Digital Transformation Doesn’t Start with Tech

Every business claims it’s acting aggressively to seize the potential of digital technology. But through a combination of overuse and inaction, “digital transformation” in the mouths of many has become an empty cliché. As we approach the cusp of the third decade of the 21st century, the digital age has reached maturity. It’s time to...

8 Stand-up Meeting Ideas to Try with Your Team

Standing meetings get a bad rap—although launched with the intention of keeping a certain topic, goal, or initiative top of mind, they often devolve into disruptive wastes of time that keep teams from doing real work. We all have recurring meetings on our calendars that elicit behind-the-screen eyerolls. However, when facilitated properly and organized around a shared...

Roadmapping: An Essential Planning Practice to Deliver Outcomes

In part two of this series, Strategic Planning: The Types of Planning That Bring Your Strategy to Life, we reviewed the first three planning types from the eBook, “Planning Deconstructed: 5 Types of Planning Crucial to Delivering on Strategy with a Dynamic and Continuous Approach,” covering financial and budgeting project plans, strategic planning, and program...

What’s the difference between Value Stream Management and Value Stream Mapping?

“Value Stream Mapping and Value Stream Management are highly complementary. They look at delivering value from a whole systems perspective. The former exercise can kick off, or be part of, an ongoing Value Stream Mangement practice.” – Dominica DeGrandis, Director of Digital Transformation, Tasktop This time last year Forrester Research declared the “time is now”...

The Dos and Don’ts of Flexible & Remote Work as a Benefit

With the incredible improvements in both technology and internet speeds, having a team made up of remote workers scattered across the globe is becoming normal practice. Even in more traditional, “brick-and-mortar” operations in a single location, offering employees the opportunity for flexible remote work is common practice. Depending on your point of view, these flexible...

The Business Case Against Too Much Email

After the end of the January government shutdown, one worker reported coming back to nearly 4,500 unread emails. That’s a symptom of a dysfunctional government, to be sure. But it’s also a sign of a tool that’s outlived its usefulness. Our collective email obsession is now, without a doubt, seriously cutting into our days, our...

Wish You Had a “Google Maps” for Initiative Execution?

Change (Really) Is The Only Constant. “The pace of technological and digital advance was rated as the top threat facing global business leaders, surpassing the current churn of economic, political, and environmental changes.” (Forbes) Change is everywhere. And, it’s not just about technology. The very fabric of tried-and-true business models are being turned upside down...

With Strategic Initiatives, You Can’t Afford Anything Less Than Success

“The ultimate goal of any corporation is to make money.” (Forbes) While different companies have different goals at various points in their evolution, there is one underlying truth that cannot be denied. Without staying ahead of the competition, meeting customer expectations, and making money they won’t survive. This is where strategic initiatives come in. Whether...