My favourite Peter Block quotes

Peter Block really does give good guru. ‘How do we do this over a long period of time?’ ‘Stay healthy’‘How do we sustain this over a long period of time?’ ‘Exactly. Join us and we’ll see.A church in Cincinnati is proud of feeding 5,000 people every week, but they don’t know any of them. If … Continue reading My favourite Peter Block quotes →

What topics should I dig into in more depth?

Can you believe some of my LinkedIn posts get read over 10,000 times? But the LinkedIn update length means everything gets very squished. Here are my top posts so far - which would you like to hear more about? 1- four quadrant of thinking threats (how not to let your self-importance get the better of … Continue reading What topics should I dig into in more depth? →

What would you most like me to write about on LinkedIn?

My regular LinkedIn updates have been pleasingly successful - it's so great that thousands of people every week want to read stuff that doesn't try to dumb things down. So, what would you like me to share next? Please let me know your choice in the comments: 1- the horror of organisational projects that are … Continue reading What would you most like me to write about on LinkedIn? →

What’s wrong the way we use organisational measures?

What’s wrong the way we use organisational measures? Seven deadly sins: 1- Making a measure into a target will mean it’s no use any more (Goodhart’s Law). People play the scoreboard, not the game 2- Any proxy measure of your outcome will take over as your de facto purpose (I call this Deming’s Law) 3- … Continue reading What’s wrong the way we use organisational measures? →

How often do things go wrong because of lack of clarity?

…‘But I thought *you* were doing that?’ …‘What do you mean, I don’t have permission? You asked me to fix it!’ Here’s a simple, powerful way to improve clarity. Take a piece of paper, divide it into three columns. Think of a task, role, or project you've been given by someone.In the left box, write the hard … Continue reading How often do things go wrong because of lack of clarity? →

This intriguing image contains two possibilities for organisations, and the people who spend their lives in them

It's the first modern organisation chart, and here are the stories. One story is that this was created after the first fatal railroad accident. They hired an engineer, so he saw the railroad as a big machine. The org chart is to allocate blame - 'let there be no question as to who was delinquent … Continue reading This intriguing image contains two possibilities for organisations, and the people who spend their lives in them →

The Campaign Against Consultancy – do you want to join?

Are you fed up of consultants who- create dependency and undermine the confidence and capacity - sell the same old solution whether it fits the problem or not?- are more focused on position in their business than value to the client Look, I'll come right out - I'm a consultant.A former member of the Worshipful Company … Continue reading The Campaign Against Consultancy – do you want to join? →

Why is a bridge and water such a good explanation of how people go wrong with business transformation?

Why is a bridge and water such a good explanation of how people go wrong with business transformation? I use this image to open a lot of my learning and teaching on service and business transformation. What do you see? Some see - white water - froth and waste which we can remove one obstacle … Continue reading Why is a bridge and water such a good explanation of how people go wrong with business transformation? →

There are five core things which, if you make them your practice, are likely to lead to organisational success.

Three basics: 1. honest conversations, discussing the undiscussable of emotions and reasoning – nothing can develop unless there's a shared effort to get at the truth 2. clarity – no learning is possible, and productivity and psychological safety are unlikely, without clarity of roles, tasks, decision-making, and relationships 3. learning – true learning isn't possible without … Continue reading There are five core things which, if you make them your practice, are likely to lead to organisational success. →

Local public services in the UK face a ‘perfect’ storm – we need Adaptive Councils

The challenges appear insurmountable. Conditions that are truly ‘turbulent, uncertain, novel, and ambiguous’. And we are running on empty.  This paper, from @RedQuadrant and the Public Service Transformation Academy @ServiceReform, sets out twelve principles for an adaptive approach to meet the needs of our circumstances. Which of these twelve capabilities do you think is the … Continue reading Local public services in the UK face a ‘perfect’ storm – we need Adaptive Councils →