Blog

Why IT systems fail when they ignore human behavior

Many large IT initiatives fail for a remarkably simple reason: they do not fit how people actually behave. Over the years, I have seen ambitious systems with strong business cases, solid architecture, and executive backing quietly die after launch....

Why AI strategy is ultimately a leadership problem

Before generative AI entered the mainstream, I led transformations across several insurance companies where automation of the claims process was a central element. What became clear early on was not a limitation of technology, but a leadership realit...

Why organisation almost always wins over architecture

Conway’s Law is often quoted, but rarely taken fully seriously. It describes how organisations tend to design systems that mirror their communication structures. In other words, architecture becomes a reflection of how we organise ourselves and work together.

Which way is the leadership pendulum swinging?

Seen over the past 100 years, developments in leadership have followed a fairly clear pattern. A pendulum swinging back and forth in an attempt to make consciousness and complexity fit together. New leadership movements emerge when the way we understand leadership and the world can no longer contain the reality we are facing.

Everyday translation of strategy

This week, I had a wonderful coffee conversation with two seasoned consultants, and it did not take long before we landed right in the middle of a familiar phenomenon: strategies that never become anything. Strategies that live in beautiful presentations, but not in the reality employees face every single day.

You may well be able to do it yourself

How to create leadership meetings that balance operations and organisational development

Leadership is about balancing time and attention between what is urgent and what is important. Operations are often more urgent than development, but in the longer run development is often more important than operations.

What does the research say about Agile Leadership?

The effect varies considerably depending on the context, and there is limited knowledge about harder bottom-line and customer-related metrics. In other words, Agile Leadership is not a miracle cure, but it can create significant value under the right conditions.

Does your strategy live in your stories and actions?

When plans are always adjusted anyway, when stories create more energy than spreadsheets, when success can become a trap, when values reveal themselves through actions, and when the biggest goals are often best reached at an angle, then the role of the strategist changes too.

The leaders of the future are Value Creators

Leadership in the 21st century is no longer about managing resources. It is about creating the conditions for value creation.