English
Dirk Anton van Mulligen
Preventing Strategic Blindness in Complex ...

Our world has stopped being predictable. From rapid market shifts to systemic disruptions (economic, social, technological), leaders today face environments where cause and effect are not clearly linked, and where traditional planning and optimization no longer work. When policies, strategies, or operational plans are based on simplified assumptions about how a system works, without accounting for its complexity, leaders pay the price in wasted resources, lost opportunities, internal friction, and reduced long-term viability.

This blog shows how strategic blindness shows up in practice and what leaders can do about it.

Preventing Strategic Blindness in Complex Systems: A Leadership Imperative
English
Dirk Anton van Mulligen
Giftedness as Driver of Innovation requires a ...

As a gifted person, you do not always have an easy time in a large organization. You see a lot, feel even more, and would like to contribute to something bigger than what is defined in your formal job description. Your 'clock speed' is also sometimes a lot faster than the rest of the system, the people, and the procedures, so you can get out of sync. Often, you pull everything and anything besides your actual work to yourself, to keep things running smoothly or to make necessary innovations possible. Your actions frequently prevent problems to occur or become more serious, which is something that is not always visible for others and therefore stay unacknowledged. Especially when you do not have the right certificates or political dexterity…

Giftedness as Driver of Innovation requires a Formal Position
Nederlands
Dirk Anton van Mulligen
Modereren of niet? Bloggen en posten in ...

Bloggen, vloggen en posten in verhitte tijden, je moet het maar durven. Wanneer mensen waarderen wat je doet, is dat erg fijn. Want je probeert met veel liefde, aandacht en tijd iets te maken waarmee je inzicht en hopelijk wijsheid deelt. Iets waarmee een ander zijn of haar voordeel kan doen. Of niet natuurlijk, dat staat gelukkig iedereen helemaal vrij. Reacties kunnen dan aanvullend en verrijkend zijn en zo bijdragen aan wat je voor ogen hebt. Het tot leven brengen. Maar wanneer de reacties minder positief zijn, of zelfs agressief worden, wordt het al snel een stuk minder aangenaam. De vraag is dan, hoe ga je daarmee om?

NB: Deze blog is geschreven ter gelegenheid van de Week van de Integriteit van 1 tm 9 december 2022.

Modereren of niet? Bloggen en posten in verhitte tijden
English
Dirk Anton van Mulligen
Moderating hybrid events: teamwork & ...

Last week I had the pleasure of moderating the hybrid conference 'Digitalising public services: Challenges, risks and opportunities for citizens, businesses and workers' for the European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions CESI. The two-day event took place in the beautiful city of Konstanz in Germany. On my way home I let three intense days sink in and realised how much more complex the role of moderator has become since my first event moderation some 15 years ago. And how much more moderation has become teamwork, dependent on many people and technologies. And how blessed I was working with such a great team…

Moderating hybrid events: teamwork & technology
English
Dirk Anton van Mulligen
How to prevent policy blindness in a complex ...

Our world has become more complex. And with it the issues we face, whether it's Covid19, immigration, housing, energy transition or climate change. Developing good policies has never been so difficult. Unfortunately, all too often, policy at the national and supranational level is still made as if we live in a manageable, predictable world. Or a world that we can make manageable again solely with the help of technology, models and narratives. A world that can still be addressed top-down, the old way. Policy makers sometimes seem to be blind to the complex reality of the present time. A policy blindness, a lack of awareness of the real world effects of the policies pursued by administrators, with potentially harmful consequences for many generations to come…

How to prevent policy blindness in a complex world

Strategy

Preventing Strategic Blindness in Complex Systems: A Leadership Imperative

Preventing Strategic Blindness in Complex Systems: A Leadership Imperative

Our world has stopped being predictable. From rapid market shifts to systemic disruptions (economic, social, technological), leaders today face environments where cause and effect are not clearly linked, and where traditional planning and optimization no longer work. When policies, strategies, or operational plans are based on simplified assumptions about how a system works, without accounting for its complexity, leaders pay the price in wasted resources, lost opportunities, internal friction, and reduced long-term viability.

This blog shows how strategic blindness shows up in practice and what leaders can do about it.