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Businesses grow up with a certain ‘culture’ – it seems simply to develop, often without intention. In our social lives we recognise unwritten rules – like inappropriate language, for example. In our business lives there are also unwritten rules, which seem to ‘morph’ into the company’s culture, and assume a life of their own. Culture often just evolves.

I believe that HR and OD are two distinct disciplines, using different tools, skills and qualifications. They make a perfect partnership only when this is clearly understood. Merging them can be positively unhelpful and lead to conflicts of interest.

This question is part of the mystery of the nature of humankind. What are we in essence? And in influencing collaboration in people and groups are we taking people back towards, or away from, their natural behavioural roots?

Here’s a thought: the likelihood is that you have great technical skills, and quite possibly great social skills. But do you have the skills in place that you need to run your organisation? Possibly not. And you can’t run a good organisation on technical skill, or social skill, alone.

Yesterday, I wrote that for 20 years or more, I’ve operated within what I thought were the more or less universal ‘rules of engagement’ of professional service provision. But increasingly, I felt, it seemed other people don’t know these rules, or are actually operating by a completely different set! And then I had a blinding flash of insight…

For 20 years or more, we’ve operated within what we thought were the more or less universal ‘rules of engagement’ of professional service provision, at least in the UK/US/Western business world. But increasingly, it seems, other people don’t know these rules, or are actually operating by a completely different set!

The most common misconceptions about leadership influence your way of thinking about yourself, your life and your everyday challenges. Do you recognise yourself in the following..?

Here are six dimensions of automatic listening:

Where is your organisation ‘located’? I don’t mean its geographical location, its files or its products and services. I’m asking where your organisation is ‘located’ in your mind and the minds of your colleagues, customers, competitors and suppliers. All organisations are ‘located’ in conversation – in how people think about and talk about them – and, more specifically, in an aspect of conversation called ‘listening’.