Theseis

Humans are the only beings that live in the past, in the present and in the future simultaneously. They live in the past with memories. Memories to a large extend define not only the way they think but also the way they feel and ultimately the way they behave and act. This can go quite far. People sometimes live in a bubble that is defined by the paradigms of the past, a bubble that cannot be easily escaped. And this only happens because the past firmly answers the “how” questions of life. Simply, something that has happened has happened. No doubt about that. Facts are facts. And facts are objective. However, the mistake that people usually make is that the meaning attached to them, is just not. It is purely subjective!   People also live in the future. They live in the future with dreams. Dreams also define the way people think, feel, behave and act. But there is a clear distinction between memories and dreams. Dreams answer only the “why” questions.   Dreams can be r...

There have to be rules, for no game is worth playing without them. And that applies always and everywhere. After all, even the universe obeys certain rules. Rules are important for individuals, for families, for organizations and for societies as a whole and this is due to the fact that rules define how and at the same time how not to act, in order to fulfill their purpose. In other words, rules set limits to what can be considered acceptable and what cannot. Simply said, not all means can be justified by ends. There have to be ways that are appropriate and ways that are not. In this respect, even war must have rules and it does!   Rules do not answer any “why” or even any “what” questions. They only answer the “how” ones. Rules are therefore important for defining the form of human activity and not it's function. They are no substitute to purpose. They are not a substitute to action. They are much more humble. They have to be there in order to make human activity interesting a...

One thing is for sure. Crises will happen! The second thing that is for sure however is that they will not last forever. They will not stay. They will eventually go. And what they will leave behind will be losers but there will also be winners. There will definitely not be losers only. There will be winners too! And if this is the case, then what distinguishes a winner from a loser is a question that is worth some thought!   Crises mean problems. A lot of them! Problems and opportunities however are the two opposite sides of the same coin. The capability to solve problems therefore is quite critical in times of crises as in every other case and even more. However, during crises there is one parameter that makes problem-solving problematic to say the least. There is just no time! Everything seems to be pressing. Everything seems to be urgent and important at the same time. And to make things even worse, managers are human beings. And human beings tend to think in terms of worst ...

At the very heart of the existence of any organization lies the answer to a very important “why” question. And this question always needs to be about why the organization should ever exist, namely its purpose! All organizations exist for a purpose. And the purpose always has to do with serving somebody or something else. No organization can exist for serving nothing but itself. For such an organization would sooner or later die. There has therefore to be a need that the organization wants to satisfy and it is only when well-defined ideas on how to provide for this need in the best possible way are defined that an organization can exist.   Organizations may come to existence for achieving a purpose. However it is not this purpose that drives their evolution. Organizational mission alone cannot do that. It is simply not enough for an organization to identify why it should ever exist in order to go forward. It is also of paramount importance to also identify what it needs to do wi...

Every organization exists for a reason, which always has to be about serving somebody or something else. The very existence of any organization depends on that, since it is a well-defined reason that gives rise to a strong purpose. And it is exactly this purpose that drives the organization forward, thus allowing it to grow and prosper. In this sense therefore, a purposeful organization is a healthy organization. After all, a healthy organization is one that can be self-sustained by providing for its environment both now and in the future.   As long as the organization successfully serves an existing need and it does that by consuming resources that are less costly than the value of this need, is both effective and efficient in the short-term. Such an organization is a healthy organization today. An organization that can foresee future needs and can stay integrated when making the necessary transition is both effective and efficient in the long-run. Organizations that can do al...

There have been a lot of discussions regarding democratic versus autocratic management dilemma during the last couple of decades to say the least! The current generation of managers and to a large extent the previous one too is proud to have abandoned the autocratic management styles of the older ones. They boast that, in this way, they have managed to motivate people, to increase productivity and to a large extent to increase the capacity of their organizations to develop.   For sure, democratic management has a lot to offer. However, it does not always represent the right approach. Democracy is good for decision making. This is so because in democracies everybody has the right to offer ideas and opinions. And it even goes further than that. In true democracies this is even an obligation. One has to participate too. And if one does not do so, one does not have the right to complain afterwards… Democratic management therefore allows organizations to make good decisions. In this...

Organizations are born in order to serve a purpose. And this purpose is in turn always about serving somebody or something else. There simply has to be a need that needs to be satisfied for an organization to be born. It is however only when the commitment of the founder to the idea overcomes his or her perceived risk, that the organization may come to life. Organizations are therefore born out of an entrepreneurial glimpse in the eyes of their founder and it is this entrepreneurial spirit that drives them all the way through as they grow. However, entrepreneurship is not enough for organizations to prosper…   As they grow, organizations need to become more systematized. Entrepreneurship offers flexibility. However, control is also important. Organizational effectiveness is simply not enough. Organizations have to be efficient too. And they have to be both effective and efficient both in the short and in the long term. As organizations grow therefore they introduce controls. Co...