By: Michael McQueen
Large and mature organisations tend to be inertial at their core. In nature as it is in business, size is almost always inversely related to agility.
At Work
School Principals Under Stress as Violence and Paperwork Increase
By: Clare Bruce
A third of school principals are working up to 65 hour weeks, swamped in paperwork and bureaucratic checklists, and burnout is high.
5 Ways Bureaucracy Will Kill Your Business
By: Michael McQueen
When German political economist Max Weber first devised the bureaucratic theory of management in the late 19th century, his intention was to combat the nepotism and unproductiveness rife in the family-run businesses of the day.
When Beauty Treatments Become About Life Calling
By: Laura Bennett
Tucked away in a quite alley of a busy Australian city is Aesthetic Artisan Group: a sweet-scented haven for salon-weary clients who seek respite from the impersonal care and rushed pace so many beauty outlets offer.
Walking off the street and into its modernised French provincial setting there’s no hairdryers buzzing or heels hitting floorboards, it’s calm and welcoming.
The 7 Tests of True Mastery
By: Michael McQueen
It appears we have never had so many experts roaming the planet than in our modern age.
As I trawl through the LinkedIn profiles of my contacts, everyone it seems is a ‘specialist’, ‘sought-after authority’ or ‘expert’ at something – some even manage to specialise in pretty much everything!
The Vocabulary of the Persuasive Leader
By: Michael McQueen
In the mid-1800s, vast tracts of land in central Australia were granted to immigrants who had, in many cases, just arrived from Europe. These farmers and pastoralists found themselves with a challenge – they were now in control of expanses of land that were, in some cases, almost as large as the countries they had just come from.
Focusing on Friction
By: Michael McQueen
Innovation is often thought of in terms of creation and invention – coming up with new ideas and new solutions. However, working with clients in recent months I have discovered that often the most powerful forms of innovation are more subtle.
Why Open-Plan Offices Aren't Working – and What to Do About It
By: Michael McQueen
Recent decades have seen scores of offices embrace an open-plan format – as many as 70% of all workplaces.
The rationale for doing away with doors and walls was clear: by bringing down the barriers that divided us, greater collaboration, communication and cohesion would result. In addition, a more flexible and fluid office layout would suit an increasingly mobile and transient workplace.
Or so we thought.
Getting Into the Zone When Working from Home
By: Michael McQueen
We all know the feeling of being in a rut when motivation eludes us and the gravity of inertia feels too great to shrug off. There’s a pile of work to do but you can’t seem to summon the energy or will to get off and go.