ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
An AI-native strategy firmGlobal Advisors: a consulting leader in defining quantified strategy, decreasing uncertainty, improving decisions, achieving measureable results.
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Decreased uncertainty, improved decisions
Global Advisors is a leader in defining quantified strategies, decreasing uncertainty, improving decisions and achieving measureable results.
We specialise in providing highly-analytical data-driven recommendations in the face of significant uncertainty.
We utilise advanced predictive analytics to build robust strategies and enable our clients to make calculated decisions.
We support implementation of adaptive capability and capacity.
Our latest
Thoughts
Global Advisors’ Thoughts: Is insecurity behind that dysfunction?
By Marc Wilson
Marc is a partner at Global Advisors and based in Johannesburg, South Africa
Download this article at http://www.globaladvisors.biz/inc-feed/20170907/thoughts-is-insecurity-behind-that-dysfunction
We tend to characterise insecurity as what we see in overtly fragile, shy and awkward people. We think that their insecurity presents as lack of confidence. And often we associate it with under-achievement.
Sometimes we might be aware that insecurities can lie behind the -ias, -isms and the phobias. Body dysmorphia? Insecurity about attractiveness. Racism? Often the need to find security by claiming superiority, belonging to group with power, a group you understand and whose acceptance you want. Homophobia? Often insecurity about one’s own sexuality or masculinity / feminity.
So it is often counter-intuitive when we discover that often behind incredible success lies – insecurity! In fact, an article I once read described the successful elite of strategy consulting firms as typically “insecure over-achievers.”
Insecurity must be one of the most misunderstood drivers of dysfunction. Instead we see its related symptoms and react to those. “That woman is so overbearing. That guy is so aggressive! That girl is so self-absorbed. That guy is so competitive.” Even, “That guy is so arrogant.”
How is it that someone we might perceive as competitive, arrogant or overconfident might be insecure? Sometimes people overcompensate to hide a weakness or insecurity. Sometimes in an effort to avoid feeling defensive of a perceived shortcoming, they might go on the offensive – telling people they are the opposite or even faking security.
Do we even know what insecurity is? The very need to…
Read the rest of “Power, Control and Space” at http://www.globaladvisors.biz/inc-feed/20170907/thoughts-is-insecurity-behind-that-dysfunction
Strategy Tools
Your due diligence is most likely wrong
As many as 70 – 90% of deals fail to create value for acquirers. The majority of these deals were the subject of commercial or strategic due diligences (DDs). Many DDs are rubber stamps – designed to motivate an investment to shareholders. Yet the requirements for a value-adding DD go beyond this.
Strategic due diligence must test investees against uncertainty via a variety of methods that include scenarios, probabilised forecasts and stress tests to ensure that investees are value accretive.
Firms that invest during downturns outperform those who don’t. DDs undertaken during downturns have a particularly difficult task – how to assess the future prospects of an investee when the future is so uncertain.
There is clearly an integrated approach to successful due diligence – despite the challenges posed by uncertainty.
Read more…
Fast Facts
The use of full absorption or average costing in asset-intensive industries with under-utilisation can lead to self-defeating pricing strategies
The use of full absorption or average costing in asset-intensive industries with under-utilisation can lead to self-defeating pricing strategies
- The use of full absorption or average costing in a manufacturing environment with under-utilisation can lead to self-defeating pricing strategies
- The increase in price to cover costs results in volume decreases – lowering factory utilisation and increasing unit production costs. This is the start of the utilisation-pricing “death spiral”
- Costing according to factory utilisation – partial absorption costing – offers the opportunity to be more strategic about costing and utilisation
- “Unabsorbed” costs can be targeted through OEE and volume improvements. At the same time, the “disadvantage” of having a large factory is normalised and pricing can compete with more fully-utilised factories
- A recent manufacturing client saw 60% of unit costs arise from factory under-utilisation – sub-optimal OEE levels (non-conformance), low volumes and work-centre bottlenecks contributed to the utilisation gap
- These principles can apply to any asset-intensive business – for example banking
Selected News
Quote: Clayton Christensen
“Culture is a way of working together toward common goals that have been followed so frequently and so successfully that people don’t even think about trying to do things another way. If a culture has formed, people will autonomously do what they need to do to be successful.” – Clayton Christensen – Author
Clayton M. Christensen, the renowned Harvard Business School professor and author, offers a piercing definition of culture that underscores its invisible yet commanding influence on human behaviour. Drawn from his seminal 2010 book How Will You Measure Your Life?, this observation emerges from Christensen’s broader exploration of how personal and professional success hinges on aligning daily actions with enduring principles.1,2 The book, blending business acumen with life lessons, distils decades of research into practical wisdom for leaders, managers, and individuals navigating career and family demands.1,3
Christensen’s Life and Intellectual Journey
Born in 1952 in Salt Lake City, Utah, Christensen rose from humble roots to become one of the most influential thinkers in business strategy. A devout Mormon, he integrated faith with rigorous analysis, viewing truth in science and religion as harmonious.2,4 Educated at Brigham Young University, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, and Harvard Business School, he joined Harvard’s faculty in 1989. His breakthrough came with The Innovator’s Dilemma (1997), introducing disruptive innovation – the theory explaining how market-leading firms falter by ignoring low-end or new-market disruptions.5 This framework, applied across industries from steel to smartphones, earned him global acclaim and advisory roles with Intel, Kodak, and others.
Christensen’s later works, including How Will You Measure Your Life?, shift from corporate strategy to personal integrity. Co-authored with Jeff Dyer and Hal Gregersen, it warns against marginal compromises – ‘just this once’ temptations – that erode character over time.3 He argued management is ‘the most noble of professions’ when it fosters growth, motivation, and ethical behaviour.2,3 Stricken with leukemia in 2017 and passing in 2020, Christensen left a legacy of over 150,000 citations and millions of books sold, emphasising that true metrics of life lie in helping others become better people.2,4
The Context of the Quote in Christensen’s Philosophy
In How Will You Measure Your Life?, the quote illuminates how organisations – and lives – succeed through ingrained habits. Christensen posits that culture forms when proven paths to common goals become automatic, enabling autonomous action without constant oversight.1 This ties to his ‘resources, processes, priorities’ (RPP) framework: resources fuel action, processes habitualise it, and priorities direct it.2,4 A strong culture aligns these, creating ‘seamless webs of deserved trust’ that propel success, echoing his warnings against short-termism where leaders chase loud demands over lasting value.3
He contrasts virtuous cultures fostering positive-sum interactions and lucky breaks with toxic ones breeding zero-sum games and isolation.3 For leaders, cultivating culture means framing work to motivators – purpose, progress, relationships – so employees end days fulfilled, much like Christensen’s own ‘good day’ model.2
Leading Theorists on Organisational Culture
Christensen’s views build on foundational theorists who dissected culture’s role in management and leadership.
- Edgar Schein (1935-2023): In Organizational Culture and Leadership (1985), Schein defined culture as ‘a pattern of shared basic assumptions’ learned through success, mirroring Christensen’s ‘frequently and successfully followed’ paths. Schein’s levels – artefacts, espoused values, basic assumptions – explain why entrenched cultures resist change, much like Christensen’s processes becoming ‘crushing liabilities’.5
- Charles Handy (1932-2024): The Irish management guru’s Understanding Organizations (1976) classified cultures (power, role, task, person), influencing Christensen’s emphasis on autonomous success. Handy’s gods of management archetype underscores culture’s ritualistic hold.
- Stephen Covey (1932-2012): In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (1989), Covey urged ‘keeping the main thing the main thing’ via principle-centred leadership, aligning with Christensen’s priorities and family-career balance.3
- Peter Drucker (1909-2005): The ‘father of modern management’ declared ‘culture eats strategy for breakfast’, a maxim Christensen echoed by prioritising cultural processes over mere resources.5
- Charles Munger (1924-2023): Berkshire Hathaway’s vice chairman complemented Christensen, praising ‘the right culture’ as a ‘seamless web of deserved trust’ enabling weak ties and serendipity.3
These thinkers collectively affirm culture as the bedrock of sustained performance, where unconscious alignment trumps enforced compliance. Christensen’s insight, rooted in their legacy, equips leaders to build environments where success feels inevitable.
References
1. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7256080-culture-is-a-way-of-working-together-toward-common-goals
2. https://www.toolshero.com/toolsheroes/clayton-christensen/
3. https://www.skmurphy.com/blog/2020/02/16/clayton-christensen-on-how-will-you-measure-your-life/
4. https://quotefancy.com/clayton-m-christensen-quotes/page/2
5. https://www.azquotes.com/author/2851-Clayton_Christensen
6. https://memories.lifeweb360.com/clayton-christensen/a0d52888-de6d-4246-bce9-26d9aaee0aac

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