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“So, anyway…” words of wisdom by John Cleese

Recently I came across a Google Talk with John Cleese who was interviewed about his memoirs "So, Anyway...". To call it an interview is a compliment to Jason Sanders who did his best to guide the conversation. Despite the no-doubt well-prepared…
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The Art of Possibility

Lately I came across the work of Benjamin Zander. He was the conductor for the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra for 20 years. He is also a renowned music teacher with students from all over the world. Apart from his musical career he co-authored…
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Turn the Ship Around! (or any other type of organization)

In my current engagement I came across the ideas of David Marquet, a captain in the US Navy with interesting ideas about leadership. He isn't the first articulating these kind of ideas but his context is unique as a nuclear submarine is an…
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The beginning of something new: 2iQ Management & Consultancy

After 25 years, working for seven different employers in multiple countries on two different continents it was time for a new step. The real choice was to either support the vision of someone else or follow my own dreams and act on my own values…

Sourcing for a better world?

The drivers for sourcing are quite diverse, but more often than not 'cost savings' is high on the priority list together with 'focus on core business' and 'quality improvement'. Very rarely sourcing engagements are seen as an opportunity to…

Robotics: can your work be automated?

A recent trend in Shared Services and Outsourcing is Robotics Process Automation (RPA). In the early days labour arbitrage and industrialized delivery models were used to optimize processes and bring down cost. Twenty years later we see that…

Canada, Eh?

There are several ways to make decisions in life. My type of personality would generally rate the rational approach above the more emotional attempts to get to a conclusion. Normally I would do a risk analysis, talk to people who's knowledge…

Parkinson’s Law or why we procrastinate while we can…

Management Consultants as a species are always busy. Client meetings, presentations to prepare, reports to finish, networks to be maintained, we are running all over the place. But to be fair, our level of activity varies over the year. When…

Life without Facebook…

Early in the new year is the time to think about life's priorities. Numerous people start 2015 with the best intentions to live healthier lives by eating better, exercise more and if applicable stop smoking. When making up your mind about things…

Crowdsourcing, a phenomenon that is here to stay

Sourcing consultants should aspire to understand every aspect of sourcing. My question is whether that should include 'crowdsourcing' as well because this is an upcoming phenomenon. At first glance crowdsourcing seems to be something in the…
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The key to motivation: Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose

Career analyst Dan Pink has been looking at the science of human behavior. Particularly he looked at the impact of intrinsic and extrinsic motivators. His conclusion is plain and simple: we are doing something completely wrong! More than…
Best Value
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Best Value Procurement, a one-size-fits-all solution?

Well over a year ago I had several people who talked to me about Best Value Procurement (BVP for short). For different reasons they were all very positive about this approach and its potential benefits. Fragmented stories and various recommendations…