PBTO: Asking the Right Questions and Questioning the right things with Dr. Alan Barnard

https://traffic.libsyn.com/pushingbeyondtheobvious/76_PBTO__Asking_the_Right_Questions_and_Questioning_the_right_things_with_Dr._Alan_Barnard.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Email | RSSIn this conversation with @DrAlanBarnard, we explore how the principles of the Theory of Constraints (originally created by Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt) can be used to not only drive significant business results but also to help us make high stake decisions as leaders. In this freewheeling conversation, we explore Dr Barnard’s story about how he met with Dr. Goldratt and his famous motto. We explore who is a true expert. He shares how he got into an argument with Dr. Goldratt and how he then formed a life long connection with Dr. […]

How We Can Do Well and Do Good at the Same Time..

I was surprised today, when I saw this graph on the XKCD blog earlier today. I did some search about the claim and lo and behold, I could find more information about the work of Arvid Högbom and his colleague Svante Arrhenius around the effect of greenhouse gases (not named such at that time) on the climate. As the graph claims, we have known about the harmful effects of the emission of carbon in our environment now for more than 128 years, yet haven’t done much to address the issue. When I think about this a but more, I realise […]

Tendencies and Transitions

We live and work in some sort of a system. Our very body is a system. So, developing the ability to understand and work better with systems can be a super power – both as an individual and (even more so) as a leader. One of the most foundational aspects about systems that we need to understand is that all systems are living, breathing and constantly evolving. However, each one of them has a tendency to be in a specific state or can transition from one state to another. For example water can transition between solid, liquid and gas but […]

Being Accepting of Defeat is Necessary To Be Accepting of Victory – Bruce Lee

I stumbled onto the scene in which Bruce Lee talks about winning and losing, about the art of dying. Before we go any further, take the time to watch the clip here. The wisdom shared is profound in its simplicity and simple in its profundity. Win or lose, Live or die, creative or boring – they are all two sides of the same coin. One can’t come without the other. If we don’t accept one, it’s too difficult to get the other as well. As he says, learning to die is to be liberated from it. What I take it […]

Breaking Norms to Breakthrough

I stumbled onto a TikTok video about a skating race and how one athlete out-thought her competitors to register a historic win. You can watch the video here. The athlete won the competition right at the start by breaking the norms of how you are supposed to race to win. The norm was that everyone start slow to preserve their energy and then as they come close to the final laps, put all your effort and energy and get away from the pack. The winner of this race did the exact opposite. She broke away from the pack when no […]