A practical approach to making decisions in complexity

First, you establish enough shared context to move on – so you all know what is happening around you. Then, you establish enough shared purpose or intent to move on. Remember, you all need to be able to move to the next step together – any problems, back down you go! Then, identify the critical … Continue reading A practical approach to making decisions in complexity →

‘How the heck do I make decisions in this chaos?’

This was a client, but it might as well have been me! With things changing so fast, unpredictably, and it being hard to know what you can rely on, how can we make any kind of business decisions for 2021? Sure, we’ve learned! - How much we don’t know – the degree of uncertainty we … Continue reading ‘How the heck do I make decisions in this chaos?’ →

You should never publish your values or behaviours if you want culture change

Culture is the scoreboard, not the game. If you try to specify the score you want, you're far more likely to do things that are counter-productive than you are to work on the things that will change how the game is going. As soon as you publish values and behaviours, you get three things:1- indignation … Continue reading You should never publish your values or behaviours if you want culture change →

The great big sh*t-shovelling machine

My client ran a housing repairs service Customers could wait a long time for an operative to answer a ‘hotline’. Or visit their Housing Office. There were six ‘levels’ of repair; each with a ‘resolution time’ (part of the ‘customer promise’). There were hundreds of codes for the different repairs. Customers and officers didn’t understand … Continue reading The great big sh*t-shovelling machine →

Who wants to become an organisational Jedi?

Over several posts, I’ve outlined a dozen ways the Force operates in organisational life. The unseen energy that permeates all living things, that binds our working galaxy together. If you can’t see these forces – the dominant/other patter, the essential Viable Systems organisational logic, the impact of trauma and the lust for power – they … Continue reading Who wants to become an organisational Jedi? →

Have you heard of ‘commissioning’? Here’s why it’s important in all our lives

'Commissioning' is misunderstood, denigrated, reduced to something else, and important. Often seen as just procurement, outsourcing, or a commercial activity, in fact it is about really achieving our goals as a society. There are three versions of commissioning 1.0 started as a way to try to buy things effectively, thinking about the real needs, and … Continue reading Have you heard of ‘commissioning’? Here’s why it’s important in all our lives →

Are you playing the real human game, or are you being seduced by the Dark Side of The Force?

The surface game in organisations is theatre of change, decision-making, reorganisation. Strategy. Most of the time, it’s pure pantomime; a show of effort is more important than real results.The alternative – dealing with the actual the people and real change needed – would mean reckoning with human needs, and the impact of trauma, shame, and … Continue reading Are you playing the real human game, or are you being seduced by the Dark Side of The Force? →

Are you a naive enthusiast, an oversimplifying populariser, a gooroo, or a curmudgeon?

These are the ego traps that lie in wait as you enter into any powerful field of knowledge. - The naive enthusiast thinks that this new thing they've found will change the world! And is incredibly frustrated that they can't be allowed to run wild and just apply it to make *everything* better. They don't … Continue reading Are you a naive enthusiast, an oversimplifying populariser, a gooroo, or a curmudgeon? →

Are you fit for your job? Are you stretched?

The Force in organisational life creates a crackling, positive energy around organisations where work *fits* the people and *stretches* them - and a crackling negative energy which will create dangerous lightning strikes where this is off. Work - roles and tasks - needs to make a space which fits and stretches you in these dimensions:- … Continue reading Are you fit for your job? Are you stretched? →

I sabotaged the plan, and it was one of the best things I’ve done

We had all the experts in the workshop - lead policy officer, police expert, survivors' charity, community reps. Our job: design a £200k/year clinic in the middle of the borough, helping the most serious of subjects - domestic abuse. The big breakthrough was when we realised, with all those experts in the room, we didn't … Continue reading I sabotaged the plan, and it was one of the best things I’ve done →