Welcome to World After Midnight

Pentacle has just released a short 9 minute video clip which will change your perception of the world around you. It will explain why no one saw the credit crunch coming, why we have such difficulty aligning to stop climate change and why you are having to work so hard... With thought provoking comments and humour take a second look at the world we really live in... View here There is also a supporting website at http://worldaftermidnight.com/

Inspiring Dragons to Lead to Results

The packed 250-seat arena at the University of Wales Newport was host to Lead On 2008. Over the course of the day Managers and Entrepreneurs from across Wales were challenged, inspired, provoked and allowed to network, in an event sponsored by the Wales Management Council and chaired by Christopher Ward CEO. Introduced by a member of the Welsh Assembly, Eddie Obeng delivered the first keynote on Leading to Results. Within minutes it was obvious to all present that he himself had been inspired by dragons. Over 45 minutes, he put the current financial crisis firmly in its place as a simple 'event' in a bigger pattern of change. He then went on to explain how to deliver results in our world which changes faster than we can learn. He used a short story about a money making machine shop to demonstrate how to set clear priorities in the health service and other public bodies. The session became more and more interactive as the dragons stirred and demonstrated their determination to learn to lead like never before. Eddie furiously drew and scribbled (his notes are here). Together with the Eddie, the participants went on to explore how they could lead through their behaviour, emotions, actions and thinking. No sleeping dragon was left to lie.

Mr Bean smashes the glass barriers to strategy at Pilkington

Pilkington Executives were treated to a challenging session on what 'Strategy' means in the current turbulent times. Starting by referring to Porter and other traditional strategists as 'old fellows', Christophe Gillet led a romp through ideas and modern practice. He pointed out that less than 5% of 1950's Fortune 500 are discrete entities today and then went on to explain what differentiates Old and New World strategy. He illustrated the need to focus on strategic events (irreversible and organisation wide) rather than strategy, by describing the antics of Mr Bean ending with an explanation of how all trade comes from what he termed a 'misunderstanding of value'.

Nero still fiddling

Weaving a future which suits us best.

In a 50 minute 'tour de force' Eddie Obeng completed the round of speakers which included former German Chancellor Schroeder and the Prime Minister at the Turkish Textile Employers Association Conference, Marti Hotel Antalya. Eddie's presentation on Thriving by Making sense of the future covered all the New World fundamentals. He took time to explain how to apply the New world rules such as chunking - to manage uncertainty, going virtual - to give emerging societies and economies a level playing field with the rest of the world and Stakeholders rule! OK. as a way of identifying customer led business innovation in a demanding environment. The conference which concentrated on Globalisation, Energy and the current Financial crisis was well attended and reported on CNN Turk along with an interview by Professor Obeng

Conduire un changement d'organisation à l'échelle européenne

Comment faire aboutir un projet de changement d'organisation à l'échelle européenne dans un grand groupe international tel que Johnson &Johnson ?
Comment engager la totalité des parties prenantes pour assurer l'aboutissement du projet ?
Telles étaient les questions auxquelles Johnson &Johnson a répondu en organisant un séminaire dans le cadre prestigieux du Chateauform de Faverges-de-la-Tour.
Animés par Denis Rieu, un travail en profondeur sur les différentes dimensions du changement et ses aspects émotionnels puis un retour sur le projet en cours, ont permis de répondre aux attentes de tous.
Dans un ambiance conviviale, faite de discussions et d'échanges les participants ont pu enrichir leur perception du projet et le replacer dans la dynamique du monde complexe dans lequel nous évoluons. Ils sont repartis avec des outils pratiques et pragmatiques pour eux mêmes et leurs équipes.

Flattery or Fashion at the Cutting Edge?

Do you notice any similarity between the new Pentacle Navigator and a younger but larger organisation? Amazing how lightning strikes several times in the same place. I guess that's what animated the primordial soup....

Totally Absorbed

Christophe Gillet and Denis Rieu rolled out their new design of the innovative Experienced Manager's program in Strasbourg for one of the world's leading energy companies. Over the course of a week the participants had a chance to learn about the global economy from Jean-Francois Richard formerly of the World Bank, Yves Henry award winning pianist on Music and Leadership, emeritus Professor Youssef Bissada and Hoda Bissada, and an amazing string of the Pentacle Team
One participant was overheard to remark, " It seems that you have assembled only geniuses to teach this course!" The participants were totally absorbed
The course was developed in close partnership with the client. The teaching rules were no death by powerpoint, real pragmatic stuff and participation.

Doh! Learning Transforms the Future... not the Past

Words of wisdom from a key character from The Simpsons cartoon series. Pale-ed (aka David Lomas) got the message to Project managers from the Open University Estates Department at Burke Lodge Beaconsfield UK. It is pretty common for people in organisations with a public sector bias to have missed the big transition to the New World and as a result to assume that what has been will always be. David charmed the group with a clear rendition of the Project Type Blues in a style similar to that of one of his neighbours Homer.

Big smile melts the hearts of of hard project managers

Project managers from The Open University Estates department are used to delivering tough projects. From security, through new offices to IT infrastructure all these must be delivered to a highly challenging stakeholder base. Michael Anaman worked closely with 18 of them at The Virtual Business school demonstrating through his warm approachable manner in small group work how to gain commitment from the toughest and most cynical of stakeholders

Stopping the Indians turn into Cowboys

Doing business should be simple. If you want the supplier's product or service more than you want your money, and they want your money more than they want their product, then everyone comes away happy.
But this can also be hard work, and shortcuts that economise with sound ethics can look appealing, especially when business is growing at over 20%.
Will Stevens was in Mumbai last month, spending time helping young salespeople in Dow Chemicals adopt sound principles of selling that conform with honest values, and turn these into winning traits. Working with over 30 managers and sellers, Will took them on a journey to understand how people buy, how decisions are made, how to communicate an accurate and compelling business case, and how to make sure that both supplier's and customer's interests are served in a business relationship.
"...great learning experience for getting to know more about strategic selling." "...gave a thorough insight on various buying influences and their perspectives." "...the instructor was very motivating and encouraging."
This was Will's second trip to India this year. He came across no cowboys, but did eat lots of curry.

Sleeping Volcano Showers Actuaries with Sparks

In spite of having had only a couple of hours sleep because of ATC problems at Heathrow, Eddie Obeng closed the Institute of Actuaries 2008 GIRO Conference in Sorrento, across the bay from Vesuvius, with a series of loud bangs and flashes! The five hundred strong audience of leading actuaries were challenged to look at the world through 'New World' eyes. Eddie's presentation covered the basic drivers of the 'credit crunch,' the impact of climate change and the need for new thinking and leadership. the tripple whammy of; pace of change> learning, interaction>movement and emergence>linearity. "In a world which changes faster than we can learn, what do we need to do differently?" he asked. He introduced them to Karl Fisch's "Did you know?" video, challenged them to develop non-linear models to match the reality of our complex world

How Project Management Saved the World

At the Project Expo in Olympia London the worlds leading project event, UK delegates were treated to a very, very high speed presentation on how to deliver 'perfect projects' interlaced with an explanation of global change, environmental challenge and financial crises. Explaining that, "a speech never implemented anything", Eddie Obeng got the delegates chatting amongst themselves animatedly. He also told the now famous 'Alien Story.' After the session there was a rush for the stall selling copies of the New World Book series - All Change (listen to mpeg)and The Complete Leader (see video) proved the most popular

Rank and Xerox merge!

Well not really. Only within Pentacle. Eddie Obeng's diary told the story of two sequential events. One with Rank - now one the world's most formidable gaming businesses, with several channels to market from casino's, through bingo halls, to online offerings. The breadth and depth of understanding of the gaming market is quite awesome. The next was another world. A conference for Xerox in Barcelona, where Eddie delivered three keynote sessions to audiences fascinated by the new addition to Xerox's iGen family of printers - the iGen4. Eddie explained how he had recently used online publishing to produce his most recent book The Complete Leader and how being allowed the flexibility to produce just one copy of a high quality colour book opened up the opportunities available - from customised versions for specific clients, to versions finished with the notes from a specific course. He explained the NewWorld rules, 'do nothing of no use' and 'chunk it or junk it!'

Show & Tell and Wow the Audience

Eddie Obeng has been wowing audiences around the globe during his three month, pre-sales trial of the newest and coolest gadget, PaperShow from Oxford. Using a bluetooth enabled pen and a pad of specially printed paper he has worked audiences at events as diverse as Xerox iGen4 Conference in Barcelona, the Desmond Tutu African Leadership Foundation and the International Association of Conference Centres in Warwick . The kit allows him to get up close and personal, often even sitting in the audience to drive his dynamic interactive presentation. And then he put it to use in the office by illustrating a thought leadership article he was writing on Service Innovation. If you haven't put your name on the waiting list do so NOW. You can register at http://writeitshowit.com/ and quote the code UK008 so that they know where you heard about it. There's more noise about this by other bloggers