‘Change is the process by which the future invades our lives’
Alvin Toffler
Only Dead Fish is a blog and digital consultancy run by Neil Perkin. Neil is the author of three best-selling books on the intersection of business transformation and organisational agility: Building the Agile Business, Agile Transformation, and Agile Marketing (all through Kogan Page). He is also the curator of Google Firestarters. Find out more about my workshops, speaking and strategic consultancy.
Latest Posts
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Why culture is at the heart of Boeing’s problems
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‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast’, or so the saying (from Peter Drucker) goes. Boeing’s long list of recent problems have been well documented. And there’s been a number of good analyses of the real causes behind them, amongst which this Harvard piece […]
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On getting older
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‘Ageing is an extraordinary process whereby you become the person you always should have been.’ This quote from David Bowie has long been my favourite way of thinking about getting older. His description of it as an extraordinary process seems about right. […]
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Use the difficulty
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I love this from Michael Caine – the philosophy by which he has lived his life: ‘Use the difficulty’ is such a good, pithy way of articulating the benefits of learning from setbacks and challenges. We all have tricky times in our […]
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On Xerox PARC, and the failure of execution
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“Xerox could have owned the entire computer industry, could have been the IBM of the nineties, could have been the Microsoft of the nineties.” Steve Jobs When Xerox opened their Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) in 1970 it brought together talented computer engineers, […]
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When collaboration gets in the way
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We’re used to thinking of collaboration as a universally good thing. Leaders rightly strive to promote a culture of cooperation, contribution and knowledge sharing in the organisation (full disclosure: I’ve consulted and run workshops on this very thing). Employees get assessed on […]
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The power of silence
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I loved this video that Johnnie Moore shared, which is a clip from the brilliant BBC show The Assembly. The premis of the show is great – a renowned actor/personality gets interviewed by an audience of neurodivergent, autistic and learning disabled people. […]
My books
Agile Transformation
Now on its second edition, Agile Transformation sets out a blueprint for a different type of organisation which is characterised by continuous change and adaptability. Covering approaches to organisational design, operations and culture, this book reveals how leaders can catalyse far greater responsiveness and apply agile principles at scale.
Agile Marketing
Published in 2022, Agile Marketing is the definitive guide to redesigning marketing structures, processes and culture for the digital age. It covers how to put data at the heart of agility and performance, how to empower fast-moving teams and decisions, and how to catalyse a culture of collaboration and learning in marketing strategy and execution.
Building the Agile Business through Digital Transformation
Also on its second edition, Building the Agile Business is designed to be a comprehensive guide to transforming organisations to be fit-for-purpose for the digital-enabled world. This book defines a roadmap for digital transformation setting out the key principles, strategies and tools that leaders can use to create lasting change.