They weren’t non-Euclidean geometries. They weren’t beefy disruptions of prevailing orthodoxies.

This organizational personality is often, but not always, an extension of the personality of founders or powerful senior leaders (who may be long dead or retired).

the problems external consultants solve always fall into two basic buckets: insufficient systematic confidence and insufficient systematic doubt.

Charismatic but weak CEOs/leaders who function by creating strong reality distortion fields around gaps in their weak

The work of the knowledge worker is never done. You can always do an infinite amount of work for a finite piece of output. There are always more plans you could make, more background research you could do, more skills you could develop, more trends you could stay updated on, more refinements you could add to the slide deck, more Q&A you could

The tell of the Integrator in Need is endemic mental health issues across activities. There is too much anxiety. There are communication problems everywhere. Relationships are fraying all over the place. Morale is plummeting.

Knowing which nut to tighten to resolve a mysterious noise is a simple example of a knowledge asymmetry. In this case, the knowledge was everything. The mechanic didn’t bring any execution skills to the party. He could have consulted on which nut to tighten for $49.90 and the customer could have done the execution themselves, saving $0.10.

processes infrastructure ranging from

SELF-MANAGEMENT When you are in a job, you are unaware of the extent to which you rely on other people to manage you. You take and hand out action items, you sit in meetings run according to certain protocols, you take responsibility for certain processes and systems, and so on.