We need ‘difficult’ friends. I think everyone needs a ‘difficult’ person in their life. That awkward git that won’t shut up and tells you exactly why your brilliant idea is doomed to failure. They aren’t afraid of offending or hurting your feelings, publicly embarrassing you, treading on your toes and causing a ‘stink’. Just what’s […]
“Measure the Muttering…” Detecting ‘Weak Signals’
Definition – ‘to mutter’; “A barely audible utterance, especially in dissatisfaction or irritation”. In other words: something spoken, very quietly, so quiet that you can hardly hear it, it might not be exactly clear who or what it is about, It’s not exactly a fully formed complaint, it’s not written down (so it can’t be […]
Luke… ‘Root Cause Analysis 5 Whys’ is not the method you are looking for…
The (over) Enthusiasm of Youth. A long time ago (over quarter of a century), in a Galaxy far, far away (St. Mellons, East Cardiff) I learnt all about Root Cause Analysis (RCA), and my life was enriched. I was freshly equipped with a science degree, doing science based things at work and RCA fitted perfectly. […]
I do not like that person. I must get to know them better.
Hold on to your undergarments. I’m going to explain an Abraham Lincoln quote through the lens of Mean Girls. Yes, you did read that right. Mean Girls, the 2004 American teenage comedy film. At last, I understand Mean Girls. Last night I was watching Mean Girls (with my wife, who provided running commentary) and it […]
The Benjamin Franklin Effect. Why do I keep doing favours for someone I shouldn’t like?
Hard on equipment. I’ve got a friend who has a habit of borrowing my tools, and bringing them back broken. It’s usually done with a cheeky smile and an infuriating comment along the lines of “…it’s busted butt; you need to buy better quality tools”. Despite this, I am still happy to call them my […]
Getting Excited About Governance
Governance isn’t one of those words you’d typically associate with ‘enthusiasm’ or dare we say it ‘excitement’. Strange as it may seem, governance is something that we (Kate and Chris) do get excited and enthusiastic about. We probably spend more time talking about it than might be considered reasonable. There are good reasons for this. […]
Scaffolding: Temporary, Lightweight and a Utilitarian Metaphor.
I’m a bit of a sucker for metaphors. Which one of these descriptions works best for you? Option A. “To make this project something that will be a success for many years we need to put up the right sort of ‘scaffold’ to help it develop…” Option B. “To ensure the successful delivery of the […]
Nemawashi. Digging around the roots for sustainable change.
Digging around the roots. If you’ve ever transplanted a tree, or spent time digging up deeply rooted brambles, you’ll get what I’m talking about here. If you haven’t, I’d recommend it. There’s a lot to be learnt from nature*, and a bit of ’17th century Peasant work’ as my son described it. It does a […]
Minimum Viable Product (MVP) – The Soothing Balm for Pseudo Competence Syndrome
I’ve no Idea what I’m doing. Here’s a a confession. Quite a lot of the time I don’t have a clue what I’m doing. I don’t know precisely how things are going to end up. I’ve usually got a rough sense of the direction where things are headed. I’ll be aware of the danger zones […]
When do we stop learning from Beneficial Accidents? Tales from the Coal Dust Cresta Run.
The answer is… When we build our first Trojan Horse. I’ll explain why in a minute, but first a “lovely ramble down to an important point…” The Coal Dust Cresta Run. When I was growing up one my favourite playgrounds was the old quarry at the top of the street. It had been partially filled […]
