To Learn Corporate Strategy, Study the Military Masters

By Pascal Dennis (bio)

Thucydides, Sun Tzu, Livy, Machiavelli, Clausewitz - magic names.

These Masters of War are still read centuries & millennia later.

Thucydides' The Peloponnesian War was the classical text of choice during the two Iraq wars.

And General Colin Powell, famously, had the following quote from the master framed on his State Department desk:

"Of all manifestations of power, restraint impresses men most."

Sun Tzu, Machiavelli and Clausewitz are no less popular.

Why are these authors still relevant?

Because they wrote beautifully - clear, simple sentences that cut to the heart of the issue.

Because they lived what they wrote about. (All were practitioners, with all respect to many contemporary academics.)

Because human nature does not change.

In our consulting work, I see the same chess positions over and over.

Different board, different style of chess piece -- but the same positions.

The greats understand this, which I suppose is what makes them great.

I have image of these old boys shooting the breeze in a bar, regaling one another with stories, the ideas, opinions and insights coming fast & furious.

(I'd love to be the bartender!)

Best,

Pascal




In case you missed our last few blogs... please feel free to have another look…

Reflections on Deploying Improvement Strategies
Hubris and Ethics
TPS and Agile
Lean Means Don’t Be a Dumb-Ass

Lean, Leadership & Ethics, Part 1

By Pascal Dennis (bio)

Been reflecting about each of these lately, and how they relate.

But what’s Ethics got to do with anything?

We’re in a proverbial knowledge economy. The market caps of, say, Google, Facebook and Apple, dwarf that of Toyota.

Google, Facebook and Apple have comparatively little in physical capital. ‘All’ they have is intellectual capital, and in particular, human capital.

How does human capital differ, from say, physical or financial capital?

Unlike, say, a machine, or a bond, human capital can chose not to deploy. Human capital can chose to walk out the door, in fact.

“That army will win which has the same spirit,” said Sun Tsu twenty-five hundred years ago. It’s never been more true.

Yet Gallup’s latest State of the Global Workplace report tells us that only 13% of employees are engaged in their work!

Big company disease and organizational dysfunction is so deeply entrenched that we barely flinch at such data.

Imagine you’re a factory manager and your machines are operating at only 13% of capacity!

Why are people so disengaged? Gallup doesn’t say. But I suspect that disillusionment, or even disgust, at what the organization stands for, or how management behaves, is a major reason.

There’s more. Millennials (those born after 1980) will comprise 75% of the workforce by 2025. And Gallup tells us that ethical behavior in corporations is even more important to millennials than to their parents.

Of course Ethics matters. People will not follow swine, at least not willingly, for very long. People will certainly not commit their hearts and minds – unless they feel good about what the organization stands for.

Best regards,

Pascal




In case you missed our last few blogs... please feel free to have another look…

The Work of Leaders
Why is Lean So Hard? – Organizational Elements
The Trouble with Corporate Clichés
Economy I and II - Never the Twain Shall Meet?

To Learn Corporate Strategy, Study the Military Masters

By Pascal Dennis (bio)

Thucydides, Sun Tzu, Livy, Machiavelli, Clausewitz - magic names.

These Masters of War are still read centuries & millennia later.

Thucydides' The Peloponnesian War was the classical text of choice during the two Iraq wars.

And General Colin Powell, famously, had the following quote from the master framed on his State Department desk:

"Of all manifestations of power, restraint impresses men most."

Sun Tzu, Machiavelli and Clausewitz are no less popular.

Why are these authors still relevant?

Because they wrote beautifully - clear, simple sentences that cut to the heart of the issue.

Because they lived what they wrote about. (All were practitioners, with all respect to many contemporary academics.)

Because human nature does not change.

In our consulting work, I see the same chess positions over and over.

Different board, different style of chess piece -- but the same positions.

The greats understand this, which I suppose is what makes them great.

I have image of these old boys shooting the breeze in a bar, regaling one another with stories, the ideas, opinions and insights coming fast & furious.

(I'd love to be the bartender!)

Best,

Pascal




In case you missed our last few blogs... please feel free to have another look…

Why is laughter important in business?
Practical Problem Solving – Proving Cause & Effect
Lean Means Don’t Be a Dumb-Ass
Lean – So ‘Easy’, It’s Hard

Lean, Leadership & Ethics, Part 1

By Pascal Dennis (bio)

Been reflecting about each of these lately, and how they relate.

But what’s Ethics got to do with anything?

We’re in a proverbial knowledge economy. The market caps of, say, Google, Facebook and Apple, dwarf that of Toyota.

Google, Facebook and Apple have comparatively little in physical capital. ‘All’ they have is intellectual capital, and in particular, human capital.

How does human capital differ, from say, physical or financial capital?

Unlike, say, a machine, or a bond, human capital can chose not to deploy. Human capital can chose to walk out the door, in fact.

“That army will win which has the same spirit,” said Sun Tsu twenty-five hundred years ago. It’s never been more true.

Yet Gallup’s latest State of the Global Workplace report tells us that only 13% of employees are engaged in their work!

Big company disease and organizational dysfunction is so deeply entrenched that we barely flinch at such data.

Imagine you’re a factory manager and your machines are operating at only 13% of capacity!

Why are people so disengaged? Gallup doesn’t say. But I suspect that disillusionment, or even disgust, at what the organization stands for, or how management behaves, is a major reason.

There’s more. Millennials (those born after 1980) will comprise 75% of the workforce by 2025. And Gallup tells us that ethical behavior in corporations is even more important to millennials than to their parents.

Of course Ethics matters. People will not follow swine, at least not willingly, for very long. People will certainly not commit their hearts and minds – unless they feel good about what the organization stands for.

Best regards,

Pascal

To Learn Corporate Strategy, Study the Military Masters

By Pascal Dennis

Thucydides, Sun Tzu, Livy, Machiavelli, Clausewitz - magic names.

These Masters of War are still read centuries & millennia later.

Thucydides' The Peloponnesian War was the classical text of choice during the two Iraq wars.

And General Colin Powell, famously, had the following quote from the master framed on his State Department desk:

"Of all manifestations of power, restraint impresses men most."

Sun Tzu, Machiavelli and Clausewitz are no less popular.

Why are these authors still relevant?

Because they wrote beautifully - clear, simple sentences that cut to the heart of the issue.

Because they lived what they wrote about. (All were practitioners, with all respect to many contemporary academics.)

Because human nature does not change.

In our consulting work, I see the same chess positions over and over.

Different board, different style of chess piece -- but the same positions.

The greats understand this, which I suppose is what makes them great.

I have image of these old boys shooting the breeze in a bar, regaling one another with stories, the ideas, opinions and insights coming fast & furious.

(I'd love to be the bartender!)

Best,

Pascal

Pascal Dennis Bio

Lean, Leadership & Ethics, Part 1

By Pascal Dennis

Been reflecting about each of these lately, and how they relate.

But what’s Ethics got to do with anything?

We’re in a proverbial knowledge economy. The market caps of, say, Google, Facebook and Apple, dwarf that of Toyota.

Google, Facebook and Apple have comparatively little in physical capital. ‘All’ they have is intellectual capital, and in particular, human capital.

How does human capital differ, from say, physical or financial capital?

Unlike, say, a machine, or a bond, human capital can chose not to deploy. Human capital can chose to walk out the door, in fact.

“That army will win which has the same spirit,” said Sun Tsu twenty-five hundred years ago. It’s never been more true.

Yet Gallup’s latest State of the Global Workplace report tells us that only 13% of employees are engaged in their work!

Big company disease and organizational dysfunction is so deeply entrenched that we barely flinch at such data.

Imagine you’re a factory manager and your machines are operating at only 13% of capacity!

Why are people so disengaged? Gallup doesn’t say. But I suspect that disillusionment, or even disgust, at what the organization stands for, or how management behaves, is a major reason.

There’s more. Millennials (those born after 1980) will comprise 75% of the workforce by 2025. And Gallup tells us that ethical behavior in corporations is even more important to millennials than to their parents.

Of course Ethics matters. People will not follow swine, at least not willingly, for very long. People will certainly not commit their hearts and minds – unless they feel good about what the organization stands for.

In the weeks to come, we’ll dig into Ethics and how it relates to Lean and Leadership.

Best regards,

Pascal

Pascal Dennis Bio

To Learn Corporate Strategy, Study the Military Masters

By Pascal Dennis

Thucydides, Sun Tzu, Livy, Machiavelli, Clausewitz - magic names.

These Masters of War are still read centuries & millennia later.

Thucydides' The Peloponnesian War was the classical text of choice during the two Iraq wars.

And General Colin Powell, famously, had the following quote from the master framed on his State Department desk:

"Of all manifestations of power, restraint impresses men most."

Sun Tzu, Machiavelli and Clausewitz are no less popular.

Why are these authors still relevant?

Because they wrote beautifully - clear, simple sentences that cut to the heart of the issue.

Because they lived what they wrote about. (All were practitioners, with all respect to many contemporary academics.)

Because human nature does not change.

In our consulting work, I see the same chess positions over and over.

Different board, different style of chess piece -- but the same positions.

The greats understand this, which I suppose is what makes them great.

I have image of these old boys shooting the breeze in a bar, regaling one another with stories, the ideas, opinions and insights coming fast & furious.

(I'd love to be the bartender!)

Best,

Pascal