Blog

The modern matrix organisation. How does one make a modern matrix organisation actually work?Jonathan Yudelowitz The idea of the matrix organisation is well known. To run a large modern organisation, one needs certain specialisations – centres of excellence – such

Cutting through Preciousness about language is getting in the way of authentic connection and leadership.Jonathan Yudelowitz  There is a new Puritanism around. It has come through in recent years, particularly on social media. The hyper-sensitivity around language. The extreme consciousness

Most Organisational Change fails to get over the line That’s because the Last Five Yards require a completely different approach to the rest of the project.Jonathan Yudelowitz  Here’s the scenario. A massive organisation faces a massive challenge. They need to

Which room are you in? An analogy to bring home the importance of place and time in your communication at work.Jonathan Yudelowitz  I’ve just seen a billboard advert claiming something along the lines of, “Talk to everyone, everywhere, now.” Well,

Grasp the nettle You know your business must change. But how do you make difficult decisions and see them through? Jonathan Yudelowitz That the figure of speech – grasp the nettle – exists is proof enough of the human truth

Resilience – The Big Learning from Lockdown. An unasked-for disruption. But, taken by the horns, not unappreciated. Jonathan Yudelowitz  Suddenly, nothing is as it was. From when you drove home in the traffic on the evening of Thursday 26th March

Discovering the future through learning Guided Discovery is a structured and systematic process that enables your business and your employees to cross the gap from the past to the future.Danela Ezekiel (GP Strategies) & Jonathan Yudelowitz  The key to a successful transformation

Leadership in the time of Corona Internationally, the normally powerful are powerless. But here in South Africa, they defer to the experts who take the lead. And ordinary South Africans are united as never before. Jonathan Yudelowitz & Hilton Brown  In

Teenager-ish corporates Businesses are amusingly volatile, judgmental and fashion-conscious. To lead them, executives should integrate their younger selves with the wisdom and perspective that comes with adult thinking.Jonathan Yudelowitz “Truth is a pretty literal matter, it’s a matter of details,

To move things forward, create a culture of accountability And to create a culture of accountability, consider seven practices, not least, sleeping on things. Jonathan Yudelowitz When Volkswagen’s diesel scandal broke a few years ago, Olaf Lies, a VW board

How leadership makes progress happen “I’m all for progress, it’s change I don’t like.” Mark TwainJonathan Yudelowitz Leadership is not management. In management, you have a clear target, clear policies and clear operating procedures. Anything that is good policy comes

Little Red Hen and the smell of freshly baked bread “It’s not what you believe, but how you believe it that matters.” Tom DavidsonJonathan Yudelowitz One day, Little Red Hen came across a sack of corn in the barnyard. She

The cinema vs. the editing suite Working together in the editing suite is far better for a business than watching a presentation in a cinema. Jonathan Yudelowitz When you attend a presentation in a company’s boardroom, you’re in a cinema

What’s wrong with performance management? How different the world would be if we not only measured someone’s results for the quarter, but also invested the lessons they learnt and the insights they gained back into the business. Jonathan Yudelowitz I

Steinhoff's red flags show effective leadership has a bigger role than governance codes How could the Steinhoff accounting scandal have happened after governance codes were tightened and additional emphasis placed on auditing after the Enron collapse and the 2007-08 financial

Unions, business and bureaucrats in a cabal Any future economic Codesa must examine the lessons learnt, stripped of labels and slogan, writes Jonathan YudelowitzBusiness Day December 2017 SA’s "storming" process produced workable postapartheid operating models in the political Codesa of

BEE: an enabler of state capture Most businesses have colluded with the system that has failed to distinguish fronting or rent-seeking from real business, writes Jonathan YudelowitzBusiness Day September 2017 The advocates of radical economic transformation fail to notice that,

Poor education keeps most of population in servitude The current dependence on a small wealthy elite is not healthy and does not augur well for the country’s future stability and prosperityBusiness Day March 2017 Despite, and maybe because of, nearly

Digital technology has no answer to human fakery BUSINESS DAY The echo chamber of social media makes detecting the veracity in what people say increasingly difficult, writes Jonathan YudelowitzBusiness Day January 2017 Brexit and the shocking Donald Trump victory occurred