Tag Archives: degrees of freedom

I’m Shocked

By John Evelyn  |  June 10, 2011  |  Adversity,Agility,Blind Spots,Capability,Execution,Fit for purpose,General,Lean,Rigidity,Risks,Six Sigma,Sustainability

The 9.0 earthquake that devastated northern Japan continues to have severe aftershocks. They are shocks in what clever physicist would ascribe to a type of space-time. It’s not about Star Trek stuff, or the time travel that fantasies love to use, but rather how one type of event starts a whole series of other events along a different type of path, affecting a different space at a different time, but connected. These types of other events are very real “butterfly effects” where a small change in one place can cause a whole bunch of changes downstream. Believe it or not, that earthquake has changed our lives, our businesses, and our collective futures.
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Steering and Branding

By John Evelyn  |  May 11, 2011  |  Agility,Capability,Customer Experience,Customer Service,Execution,Fit for purpose,General,Legacy,Rigidity,Sustainability,Winning

What’s in a name? How about the three R’s: recognition, reputation, and revenues? What’s the value of a brand? BRANDZ has just published their evaluations and valuations of global brands. It’s a measure of just how valuable the commercial brand is and supporting insight into the whys and wherefores. The shifts and changes in their rankings are a barometer of how our choices of who delivers value are manifested in our buying behavior. It’s not an opinion poll, but rather an evaluation that incorporates business results with analysis inclusive of some subjectivity.
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Roads, Forks, and Prongs

By John Evelyn  |  March 2, 2011  |  Agility,Blind Spots,Capability,Competition,General,Leverage,Resources,Rigidity,Technology,Transparency,Travel

The term robber baron is said to have originated as a medieval name attributed to those that controlled passage on the Rhine River and charged exorbitant tolls. They recognized the power they held, as constrainers or enablers of commerce. The term lived on and thereafter was attached in 19th century America to the magnates that built and operated the railroads. Their power, the same as their predecessors, came as they became the harvesters of the power that came to gatekeepers to commercial traffic. The big and exciting commercial wars in the mid to late 1800’s were about control of the rails. The magnates who built the rails, steamship lines, and the routes of commerce did much to shape the course of history and how we operate today. We may not recognize names like Gould, Crocker, Flagler (outside of Florida), Harriman or Vanderbilt, but their tribe of visionaries and shapers continues on.
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The Choice is Yours … Maybe

By John Evelyn  |  November 6, 2009  |  Capability,General

What defines a good strategy? What does it mean? Strategy may be one of the most overused and subsequently confusing subjects in practically any realm we encounter. We hear about so many categories of strategy, that subjectivity has overcome objectivity …
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On the Dock of the Bay

By John Evelyn  |  October 6, 2009  |  Alignment,Blind Spots,Books and Publications,Capability,Diagnosis,Fit for purpose,Legacy,Vision

Have you thought about how we make decisions? It’s fascinating and frightening. I believe decision making is by far our greatest Achilles Heel. In his book, “Fateful Choices,  Ten Decisions that Changed the World”, Ian Kershaw delivers a monumental and …
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Maginot Mentality

By John Evelyn  |  May 25, 2009  |  Agility,General,Leadership,Rigidity

The last year of economic and business calamity has shattered much of public and leadership faith in business structures and controls. Regulation failed to regulate, economic self interests of financial institutions imploded from the inbred complexity of derivatives underpinned by illusionary value creation, and the dynamics of a virtual world provided no sea walls against an economic tsunami. The unraveling of the US auto industry is likely to precipitate yet more fundamental changes of how we will all operate and conduct our enterprises
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