Business Second Opinion

We look at 3 paradigms of culture in the workplace. The Authority Centered, the Empathetic Centered and the Developmentally Centered. What they look like and produce in business outcomes.

We have no institutions or infrastructure in any organization that intentionally and rigorously develops whole humans. We see the need for training the functional skills, even behavioral skills, but not the management and development of being (choosing who I am at any moment of situations) or development of our will (what we seek to serve and take on that demands we extend beyond current motives.)

What happens when the Family culture announced downsizing. AirBnb shows us what not to do.

Purpose is a very hot topic. At the level of a person's purpose and being a purpose driven organization. Learn why they may not be the best way to get direction or determine your best contribution

Today we looked at Missions and their role in motivation and keeping teams on course. We look at the effects of external management and motivation and how it is the real challenge, not getting the right kind of external method in place.

Today we look at how we look at Leadership Competencies, where people are assumed to need external management and we work to make it good leadership. We offer a non-hierarchical approach where everyone learns and uses leadership capabilities. None of the solutions offered in the MIT article, when have been tried in every downturn, will make any difference. We share what will.

Today we look at how we look at The Great Resignation,  where people are resigning to change jobs, create their own startup or do contract work for more freedom or meaning. None of the solutions offered in the MIT article, when have been tried in every downturn, will make any difference. We share what will.

Today we look at how we define our ideal customer and consumer and organize our decision making to offer the best product or service, or both. Go from seeing buyers as things, to types, to singular beings that have values and life purposes.

Once in a while, we see new ideas about the Future of Work and how to design work. Most designs are moving from traditional command and control to a Do less Harm paradigm and making it a better place to work. e.g. get rid of supervisors. It is rare to have articles or ideas on learning as a result of work Design in the Do Good Paradigm. Carol's third book, The Regenerative Business: Redesign Work, Cultivate Human Potential, Achieve Extraordinary Outcomes offers better path. So, prepare yourself to question all your good deeds again.

We look at a ‘do good' paradigm idea of how to deal with uncertainty. To overcome depression and anxiety and ignite hope. But we discover that visioning a better future has bad side-effects for social systems and planetary health. Thank goodness there is a better way to do all three at the same time.

It is not a matter of the Quantity as our critiqued article from MIT Sloan Review proposes. It is the Quality of thinking that matters. Interestingly, when we have better quality and are managing from multiple levels at the same time, we can gain energy. It is counter intuitive but known to be true for decades. And the Quantity and effectiveness of decisions and actions is exponentially improved.

This episode is helping us think about how our identity gets lost, confused or we can get panicked in times of personal, work or global change. And what to do about it.

In this episode of Business Second Opinion, Carol Sanford gives a business second opinion on principles of regeneration in the business world.

Examining Article Strategy Needs Creativity by Adam Brandenburger, March April 2 2019. Four Cs of Creativity. Contrast, Combination, Constraint, Context. We got deeply into the effect of constructing Models from activity and why Living Systems frameworks start in a place that serves innovation which gives more effective utility to customers than abstract processes.

A Critique of Creating a Data Driven Culture. Why it focuses on the wrong approach to culture (data and counting that undermines innovation and financial effectiveness. Plus an alternative, A Caring Culture for customers and they key aspects.

We used the core aspects of a Regenerative Paradigm to examine racism and why it is a problem of capability, culture and consciousness. And what we can do if we switch paradigms. We will see different things, interpret them in a new way and design from a different lens.

Philanthropy is seen as a Good Thing. What if it is really shutting the barn door after the horse is out. Or cleaning up after the problems are created, often by the people and system who created the mess. What would be a better way?

This episode uses a Harvard Business Review article on leadership flaws and failures. They offer suggestions on mitigating these flaws. Of course, we critique their diagnosis and solutions and give better alternatives from a regenerative and developmental philosophy

This episode is using an October 2021 Harvard Business Review article on Future Proofing your business from disruptions. How to prepare for skills in people and get the right talent is not a sufficient answer. We offer six practices that are shown to make a business non-displaceable.

This episode is using an October 2021 Harvard Business Review article on Future Proofing your business from disruptions. How to prepare for skills in people and get the right talent is not a sufficient answer. We offer six practices that are shown to make a business non-displaceble.

This episode using an old Harvard Business Review article on Change management from a mechanist and behavioral view. A dumb it down and reward the rats for following the maze correctly.

This episode uses an old Harvard Business Review article by Peter Drucker, the Father (Godfather?) of Modern Management as ‘grist' for our Second Opinion Mill. We rethink Drucker and created a more systemic look at management and decisions-making.

This episode points to three primary errors that most HBR articles make and why they fall into lower paradigms. First error, assuming people can't be introspective, see and correct or evolve themselves. Second error, working on change with an internal focus disregarding the effects in the ecosystem. Third error, working as those individuals are separate workers are separate from the users/buyers and the challenges are not systemic.

What happens when the Family culture announced downsizing. AirBnb shows us what not to do.

We have no institutions or infrastructure in any organization that intentionally and rigorously develops whole humans. We see the need for training the functional skills, even behavioral skills, but not the management and development of being (choosing who I am at any moment of situations) or development of our will (what we seek to serve and take on that demands we extend beyond current motives.)

Purpose is a very hot topic. At the level of a person’s purpose and being a purpose driven organization. Learn why they may not be the best way to get direction or determine your best contribution.

We look at 3 paradigms of culture in the workplace. The Authority Centered, the Empathetic Centered and the Developmentally Centered. What they look like and produce in business outcomes.

Burnout is a term often used for people in organizations. What is it? What causes it? And what is the best way to work on designing it out. Hear Carol’s Development view of how we repeatedly set up work design for burning people out.

Empowerment goes in and out of fashion. It is back. It comes from good intentions mostly because does very little for the business and can be harmful to motivation and creativity. Listen to why is is based on errors, understanding human motivation and what to do instead.

Cross Functional Teams—Why do they fail so often? What does it require to succeed? Learn Five Regenerative Principles  for building great teams.  Plus a Bonus 6th Principle for the organization worldview to support the first give. 

Anthropologists and Indigenous Nations give us a much better way to understand roles than popular business ideas. First you have to understand the ‘role’ of roles. It is not a layer of managing people. And then you have to understand what the totality of roles are that are needed and how they work together. I use my Mohawk grandfathers instruction that I wrote about in The Responsible Business as a way to make sense of leadership and how they are drawn from leading a Nation of people and how I applied them to organizational settings.

Decision-Making is a daily practice. How do we make use of Regenerative Paradigm to improve it. We critique the traditional view and give alternative strategies.

Learn about the 5 Core Windows a Regenerative Governing Body must take into account. For Directors, Advisory Boards, Associations and any governing body.

Cross Functional Teams—Why do they fail so often? What does it require to succeed? Learn Five Regenerative Principles  for building great teams.  Plus a Bonus 6th Principle for the organization worldview to support the first give. 

Anthropologists and Indigenous Nations give us a much better way to understand roles than popular business ideas. First you have to understand the ‘role’ of roles. It is not a layer of managing people. And then you have to understand what the totality of roles are that are needed and how they work together. I use my Mohawk grandfathers instruction that I wrote about in The Responsible Business as a way to make sense of leadership and how they are drawn from leading a Nation of people and how I applied them to organizational settings.

Decision-Making is a daily practice. How do we make use of Regenerative Paradigm to improve it. We critique the traditional view and give alternative strategies.

Philanthropy is seen as a Good Thing. What if it is really shutting the barn door after the horse is out. Or cleaning up after the problems are created, often by the people and system who created the mess. What would be a better way?

They are back. The folks who think authoritarian management is the only way. HBR authors push back and show why it will not give the expected outcome. But they then offer an alternative that is almost as bad. They suggest you use authoritarian practices on BALANCE with empowering employees when you can. Of course, we offer a better idea that is better for business, workers and society.

Carol and Zac look at the factors that determine how easy it is to be displaced by competitive products, companies and world events. And what to do in the face of such challenges that make you non-displaceable. 

Learn about the 5 Core Windows a Regenerative Governing Body must take into account. For Direcctors, Advisory Boards, Associations and any governing body.

Scaling is a popular concept by many. But is that something that fits a liviing systems view. But Livings Systems grow. We explore a regenerative way to grow and evolve cultures to do soo.

We used the core apsects of a Regenerative Paradigm to examine racism and why it is aproblem of capability, culture and consciouseness. And what we can do if we swiitch paradigms. WE will see different things, interpret them in a new way and design from a different lens.

How to assess the help you are offered or considering buying. Part 2. What is the difference between expert help and help from those who are imagers of Life. On improves the intelligence of, and innovation in, your organization and the other diminishes it. You can afford to not know?

We give a second opinion on The 7 Tensions that Leaders Must manage. What do you do when you have polarities. You llearn to introduce a Third Force that lifts them both beyond what you can currently see.

Descriptive paragraph Business Second Opinion Podcast digs deep to answer questions about business and business practice, you may not know you need to ask. But we believe you should be asking for the benefit of your understanding and your businesses ethics and practice. In the process of answering them, we give you a second opinion, usually a contrarian opinion, but that is well tested and proven to give the outcomes you really want without the side effects.

Innovation is a three-legged stool. It is not a list of behaviors but calls for a mindset that includes an external focus on stakeholder's lives plus what is called for with new capability for the stakeholder and the business delivering the new innovation

Using the march 2019 Harvard Business Revies entitled Why Feedback Fails, we examine how to tell if we have swtiched minds when we suggest an alternative practice or adopt a suggested one.

What is our work to do? In this time of extreme disruption? We look at the four foundational changes that we need globally as individuals, organization, and instituions.

We look at four paradigms that define Design Thinking, a very popular idea that has spread into every consulting practice and field. Including a Living Stems view of Design Thinking.

The four foundational cornerstones of a world the works. What has to change and how in this time of Hyparxic Events. (those that disrupt the patterns we lean on.

We are facing a global pandemic bigger than most of us have faced in our lifetime. What can we do to make a difference. Learn how the world (planet and society) works and design from there