When a system is over-constrained (i.e. there are too many rules or too much bureaucracy) it often folds back into chaos i.e. order collapses. For example, too much bureaucracy forces employees to find all kinds of work-arounds to get their work done, leading to a collapse of discipline. Once a system is in chaos, order is often imposed by a despotic leader. All goes well for a while, but slowly the bureaucracy creeps in again, and in an attempt to [...]
Over the last few years, we've seen many people jump onto the 'intelligence' bandwagon, with varying levels of success (and substance). Of these Emotional Intelligence (or EQ), which has become part of business jargon globally, is probably the most well-known. Others such as spiritual intelligence and social intelligence haven't really caught on (personally I feel the jury is still out on the business value offered by these concepts). While reading Stephen Denning's new book, 'The secret language of leadership', I came across the interesting concept of narrative [...]
