Digital Tonto

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Every Revolution Needs To Anticipate Its Own Counterrevolution

Digital Tonto

Saul Alinsky noted that every revolution inspires its own counter-revolution. “Once we accept and learn to anticipate the inevitable counterrevolution, we may then alter the historical pattern of revolution and counterrevolution from the traditional slow advance of two steps forward and one step backward to minimizing the latter,” he wrote. We are at an inflection point, with multiple pendulum’s beginning to swing the other way.

Change 149
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We Need To Embrace The Genius Of The Obvious

Digital Tonto

Ockham’s Razor, or the “principle of parsimony,” is often interpreted as another version of the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) rule. Yet it is far more profound than that. A far more accurate translation from the original latin is, “Entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity.” In other words, we should think before we add things that complicate matters.

Course 142
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Is What’s Good For General Electric Good For America?

Digital Tonto

General Electric has long been symbolic of the US economy. Formed in the 1890s when J.P. Morgan merged Thomas Edison’s electric company with other firms, it was one of the original components of the Dow Jones index and signaled America’s industrial rise. It was also became the first major conglomerate, forming the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in 1919, which became a leading broadcaster.

LEAN 149
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The 2023 Digital Tonto Reading List 2023

Digital Tonto

I mark time through books because books define the zeitgeist. They reflect not only the wisdoms being received, but the questions being asked. We go to books not only for answers, but to sharpen our own inquiry. Last year’s list featured books about Ukraine (and this year’s list includes a great one too). So perhaps […] The post The 2023 Digital Tonto Reading List 2023 first appeared on Digital Tonto.

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Change Can Come From Anywhere

Digital Tonto

Discussions about change tend to gravitate to one of two poles: Either change has to come from the top or it has to be grass roots. As I explain in Cascades, transformation isn’t top-down or bottom-up, but happens from side-to-side. You can find the entire spectrum—from active support to active resistance—at every level. The answer doesn’t lie in any specific strategy or initiative, but in how people are able to internalize the need for change and transfer ideas through social bonds.

Change 185
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Can We Finally Kill The Idea Of Leaderless Organizations?

Digital Tonto

For a while now, management gurus such as Gary Hamel have been advocating for flatter organizations, yet there is little evidence that eliminating leaders is a viable model. In fact, when Wharton Professor Ronnie Lee took a close look at game software developers, he actually found that the number of levels of bureaucracy increased significantly, not decreased, over the last 50 years.

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To Overcome Resistance To Change, You Need A Strategy, Not A Slogan

Digital Tonto

When we’re passionate about an idea, we want others to see it the same way we do, with all its beautiful complexity and nuance. We want to believe that if others can just understand the idea, they will embrace it. That’s why most change management practices focus on persuasion, explaining the need for change and creating a sense of urgency. But consider recent research that finds that we can’t even agree on simple concepts such as what a penguin is and it becomes clear that for any given initiat

Strategy 148