Working Collaboratively, 24/7 – QUBE Explainer Video

Are you interested in transforming your organisation? We’ve created a way for you to share with your colleagues at work a common approach by creating a brand-new QUBE explainer video, created by a cutting-edge UK animator and the Pentacle team (who provided the voiceover, script and one of the really bad jokes).

In a few minutes, you’ll be able to explain to your colleagues how they can use New World thinking to directly improve their jobs and your organisation.

We are planning to make a second explainer video covering the actual learning experience and the technology, so tell us if this would be useful, and we’d love to hear your feedback on this video in the comments below. In particular, is it clear that QUBE offers an opportunity for business transformation through learning? Does it fire up your imagination to think what else QUBE could enable?

If you’d like to learn more about QUBE, get an entry pass for a cross-company event, or book a private demonstration for you and your colleagues, visit http://QUBE.cc

Eddie Takes on Business Dogma at the London School of Economics

On Saturday the 16th of February, Prof Eddie Obeng will be speaking at the London School of Economics as part of their “Where is Economics Heading? New Schools of Thought” conference.
Eddie’s talk will be titled “How an Interconnected World Rewrote the Orthodoxy of Business”. In it, he will challenge the standard academic thinking about economics by explaining the World After Midnight, and how actions that would have been sane and rational 15 years ago can now be pointless, and even damaging, in today’s financial climate.

If you’d like to learn more about the World After Midnight, visit http://WorldAfterMidnight.com. For learning that prepares you to thrive and survive in this turbulent environment, visit http://PentacleTheVBS.com

Linked to a Connected World

There are 7 billion people in the world. Apparently, 1 in 30 of those people are connected to each other on LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network.

Now LinkedIn has contacted Pentacle to tell us that one of the key nodes in this network, one of the most popular people on the whole website, is none other than our very own director of learning, Prof Eddie Obeng. Eddie is in the top 1% of most viewed profiles in 2012 (although he missed out on having the most viewed profile to a Barack Something-or-Other in the US).

When asked to comment, Eddie said “Since I’m now a member of a club that would have me, we might as well throw a party in the New World Café on QUBE and invite the world.”

(If you don’t know how QUBE works, watch the short explainer video at http://QUBE.cc)

If you’d like to connect with Eddie on LinkedIn, you can find his profile here.

Classic, but not Old World – Eddie Obeng at Innovate ‘11

Everyone is looking for innovation, whether they are in the public, private or third sector. New ideas that will make everything faster, better and cheaper. The only problem is, innovating isn’t easy. Luckily though, organisations dedicated to imaginative solutions can meet like-minded businesspeople, government officials and academics at Innovate UK, an exhibition organised by the Technology Strategy Board and UK Trade & Investment.


To get people in the mood for Innovate UK 2013, @innovateuk tweeted a link to the opening keynote from Innovate ‘11, given by Prof Eddie Obeng.

Titled “Innovate or Die”, Eddie pointed out that while everyone says in public that they’re in favour of innovation, only one idea in 300,000 is actually successful and makes that company money. Part of the reason for this is that innovation has traditionally been thought of as a “funnel” – coming up with lots of ideas and then whittling them down to a single great idea. Instead, Eddie proposed using the RABBIT model – giving more support to a smaller number of ideas, so that they’re “healthy” enough to make it all the way. The audience were kept on their toes by the way Eddie kept asking them to discuss the concepts among themselves and challenge each other’s opinions.

If you’d like to see Eddie’s speech for yourself, you can watch it below.

Leading to an African Future.. and Perhaps Yours

At Pentacle we are proud and excited about a project we have been in a small way involved in for some time.  And we think it will energise and inspire you also.

Professor Eddie Obeng, Dr Michael Anaman and Kwame Akuffo have for some time been supporting the African Leadership Insitiute's Archbishop Tutu Leadership programme.  Last year Al Jazeera filmed a cohort of leaders on their journey.  It really is a "must watch". You'll love the challenge, the emotion, and watching the participants grow into world-class leaders. Co-founders Peter Wilson & Sean Lance and the programme team have done a remarkable job of creating over many years, what must be one of the most powerful unique leadership programmes in the world.

Don't leave this for later, put aside everything and watch the first episode now.  Tweet about it. and let us know what you thought.

Happy New Year from Eddie Obeng

This article was written by Prof Eddie Obeng for his personal blog.

I'm sure you know the tired old proverb about 'Teaching a man to fish…'  It's a really brilliant but now obsolete piece of 'Old-World' thinking. It assumes that you already know about the existence of fish and that somebody (you) has the skill to catch them. I'm not so sure that is true today.  In our complex, fast-changing world there are few ‘Opportunities’ simply because everyone else recognises them, and by the time you try to get to them they’re probably already gone.  It makes little sense to keep looking for 'Opportunities' that you recognise. Instead the trick is to create and seek out 'Possibilities'… then transform them into ‘Your Opportunities’... and then craft them into‘Realities’. Today, you must IMAGINE A FISH!

Original Proverb: Give a man a fish and he feeds for a day.  Teach a man to fish and he feeds for a lifetime.

A decade ago I added my own two silent lines.  I invented them as mantra to inspire me to keep my quest for New World Leadership and Business Management moving through education & learning-by-sharing...

Teach a man how to learn how to fish and he may also learn how to hunt, farm, produce works of art or cook.

Teach a man how to teach others to fish and you feed the village and then the world. And for you, again for 2013 and onwards I now say - First, IMAGINE A FISH.

eddie obeng ____________________________________________

David Lomas sketches his way to an Innovative Future at The Travel Convention 2012

Image courtesy of Ohmega1982/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A thumbnail sketch of a decade of changes in the travel industry would include: ever more affordable prices as the budget airline phenomenon continues to grow, do-it-yourself holiday planning via the internet and much more. To compete, travel agents need to be at the cutting edge. Each year travel agents get a chance to meet other members of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) at the The Travel Convention. They hear from experts and have an exchange of ideas about the holiday business. The, and this was one convention This year they made sure that everyone got on the correct flight to Travel Convention 2012 in Turkey.

Pentacle's Dr David Lomas led an engaging session on “Innovating for lasting impact”. David illustrated his key points, live drawing on a white on black screen to the delight of several delegates. Tweets from his session are probably the best summary...

@vlb2: #abta2012 great session from David Lomas on how not to squash innovation. . Using his 'rabbit' model . .

@sellinglonghaul: Dr David Lomas just impersonating a rabbit on stage #abta2012 to demonstrate how to nurture a good idea! Raised a smile

You can see a clip of David in action in the video below:

Thinking rationally? OK, great. What now?

You've probably come to this blog having watched Prof Eddie Obeng's TED video, “Smart failure for a fast-changing world”. You may even have visited the World After Midnight website, which goes further in explaining how the world switched from relative stability to constant change. It's quite likely that you're now thinking: “OK, so the world changes too fast to keep up with. What do I do now?”

The next step is to see if you and your organisation are ready for the New World^TM. The easy way to check is to find out whether you're following Pentacle's 12 New Rules for the New World:

1. Is your solution integrative? Say AND, not OR.
2. Does your solution recognise the need to tailor actions to meet different populations/needs? FAIR = DIFFERENT.
3. Is your solution capable of self-governance? Change DEPENDENCE to INTERDEPENDENCE.
4. Is your solution designed to ensure focus on delivering to your goal of making money (delivering benefit to society)? Do NOTHING of NO USE.
5. Is your solution designed around the people who have to deliver it and live with the results? STAKEHOLDERS RULE OK!
6. To what extent have you made or scoped your solution to the possible rather than the ‘nice to have’ impossible. Make Time FIT.
7. Have you reduced the scope to de-risk your solution appropriately? CHUNK it or JUNK it.
8. Have you ensured that your solution appropriately uses new technologies? All constraints into TOUCH SPACE.
9. Have you ensured that your solution appropriately uses new knowledge? Unlearn EVERYTHING.
10. Have you taken into Account the overall impact of change on your ability to deliver results? Don't Change ANYTHING.
11. Is your solution self-sustaining? LOOP it UP.
12. Have you developed a solution with powerful results, which relies on an approach, which is not popularly adopted? Go VIRTUAL.

If you'd like to learn more about each of these rules and how to implement them, you can read the full story here: New Rules for the New World: Cautionary Tales for the New World Manager.

Qubots Cubed

Here's one for you - a picture, taken on QUBE, of qubots on QUBE, looking a picture of a qubot in real life and... oh no, I've gone cross-eyed.

Find out how you can become a qubot, and how it can benefit your organisation, at http://QUBE.cc.

Out of Africa, Inspiration, and Then Back Again

Good leaders are hard to find, so when you do come across one, you need to make sure they're nurtured. That's the role of the African Leadership Institute, a not-for-profit body who's goal to encourage a new generation to helm Africa to success in business, government and civil society. Recently, 23 participants from across Africa met in Oxford to partake in a series of inspiring sessions. They got the excitement of meeting former Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the institute's patron, and then the apprehension of meeting Prof Eddie Obeng, the “archangel” of change.

On Saturday morning, the bleary-eyed delegates woke up to a two hour session with Eddie. Not to be daunted by what's traditionally a dead slot, Eddie explored the idea of leadership with the participants, particularly looking at the idea of using technology to make the most of the great opportunities available in Africa. He also helped the young social entrepreneurs further develop their exciting ideas, like a co-operative abattoir. With such sound guidance, these leaders will turn the Birthplace of Humanity into a birthplace for innovation.

Follow in the Footprint of Other New World Thinkers

We're the first to admit, the Pentacle website hasn't always been the easiest to navigate. And that's with good reason – we wanted to replicate the feeling of uncertainty that permeates the modern world, and also encourage exploration rather than just heading straight for the information you're looking for.

However, we understand that you don't always have a free hour or two to spend browsing, so we recently redesigned the site to be more user-friendly, as well as reflect our latest work. In particular, we wanted to share the Footprint page with you.

The Footprint page is the gateway to Pentacle's presence across the wider web. It has links to our Twitter feed, YouTube channel and LinkedIn group, as well as this blog. But the coolest part of the page is that it replicates the experience of being on QUBE, our 3D online learning medium...

I won't spoil it for you. Click here to see what I mean.

The Footprint page is also the place to go to find out about our Inspiration Monthly virtual events. So if you've heard us talking about our free online workshops, but you're not quite sure what they entail, visit the Footprint page to find out everything you need to know.

Anyway, enough chatter. Have a look for yourself:

http://www.pentaclethevbs.com/Footprint.htm

My First Day in the “Real” World

Well, that was strange.

I'd just been minding my own business, having a drink and a nice stimulating chat in the New World Cafe, as per usual. Then suddenly a door I'd never seen before appeared. I figured I might as well go through it – after all, I could just click the link to get back to where I'd been before.

But when I came out on the other side of the door, I didn't recognise the room I was in. In fact, I had a suspicion that I wasn't on QUBE at all. If I wanted to sit down on a chair I had to go all the way over to it, rather than just being able to click on it and zip straight there. There were screens all around the room, but you had to attach a little computer to them to get them to show things, rather than just dragging your document on to it.

The weirdest thing were the people everywhere. They were all different shapes and sizes from each other! And instead of being nice bright colours, they were a hodgepodge of boring colours, like pinks and browns and greys. For some reason, they had long things coming out of the sides of their bodies that they used to carry things around (why they didn't just make things move things through the air is beyond me). It also looked like no one had taught them how to hover, because they were “walking” around on things called “feet”. And worst of all, I had to do it too.

I eventually found out that I was at a conference for the Association of Project Management, which was a relief, as project management is one of my specialities. It was also cheered me up seeing Pentacle there, as they understand the New World, which is where I live. Susan, Katie and David were all very helpful, explaining to people who I was and how they could benefit from becoming a virtual avatar like me. Some people even asked if they could have their photo taken with me – I felt like a bit of a celebrity.

So it was odd day, and I don't know what I'm going to do next in the “real” world, but for now at least I'm a happy qubot.

This is guest post written by one of our qubots, who somehow managed to escape the virtual world to join as at the APM Conference. You can view more pictures of what he got up to here. To find out more about QUBE, the virtual learning medium where tutors and course members can interact as qubots, visit http://QUBE.cc

Can you see the new "World After Midnight"?

 Have you ever experienced that moment, when the drawing of the old witch transforms into a young lady? Or stared at a Magic Eye picture of coloured dots to suddenly see a butterfly emerge? Or that moment in the film The Matrix when Neo sees the data that makes the world in zeros and ones?

The next nine minutes will transform how you see the business and economic world around you. Things will never be quite the same again.

Welcome to the New World After Midnight...

NOTE: You can download a version of this video from http://worldaftermidnight.com/

ATS Tyre Eddie Out

There are over 400,000 lorries on Britain's roads, a vital backbone of trade that keeps the country running. But that all falls apart if the lorries themselves aren't running. That's where ATS Euromaster comes in. They provide top-quality servicing and branded tyres, not just for heavy goods vehicles, but for normal cars, vans and motorbikes as well. Now they've decided to “raise the bar” and take the passion and energy of their team to a new level.

ATS arranged an intense two day course for their employees, hosted by several members of senior management, including CEO Ian Stuart. Following an engaging and dynamic first day with Paul Bennett of Henley Business School, Prof Eddie Obeng kept up the traction with a session on being a courageous leader. Rather than a re-tread of previous ideas, Eddie acted as ATS's “how guy”, showing them how to transform deeply-held values and solid strategy into future success. It may have been tyring, but now that ATS have a firm grip on New World thinking it should be a Goodyear for them.

Teaching Heineken in the Places Other Business Schools Can't Reach

The Red Hats that Edward de Bono famously uses to represent intuition share their name with the Rode Hoed (Dutch for “red hat”). Once a hat shop, it was later the gateway to a big secret. Tucked away in the streets of Amsterdam, hidden inside three different houses, is the largest remaining secret church in the Netherlands. Dating back to the 17^th century, when the Remonstrantist branch of Christianity was outlawed in the country, the followers kept this huge church secret from the authorities. Today it's a discussion centre, and this year it played host to the annual Heineken Idea Contest.

Every year Heineken challenge their best and brightest to come up with ingenious and inventive new concepts, with the cream of the crop being presented at the Heineken Innovation Experience (INEX), where they go through a workshop to transform them from interesting thoughts to truly radical breakthroughs. Learning consultant Wiebe Buising and community manager for innovation Lois Ding invited Prof Eddie Obeng to help with this process. Eddie worked with Heineken in the chief focus stage, with an emphasis on engaging commitment and using the R.A.B.B.I.T. Model^TM to improve ideas rather than kill them. The participants thought that Eddie's SlizedBread^TM strategy for achieving focus was the best thing since... well, you can probably guess, and the 5 Bunny Hops^TM approach helped jump the hurdles standing in the way of innovation. It seems very appropriate that a building that used to house a secret was now the place to reveal the secrets of innovation.