This is all about the persistence of identity, at an individual human and organisation wide level. Something beautifully illustrated by; The Ship of Theseus, Triggers Broom, your Grandmothers Axe and dozens more examples you can explore here on TV Tropes, Theseus’ Ship Paradox. The new boss completely changed their identity*…in 6 months! I’m always a […]
The Ministry of the Predictable. Eliminating Uncertainty, Risk, and Resilience.
For every complex human problem, there is an answer that is simple, obvious and WRONG!* But it is the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of the Ministry of the Predictable (MOP). The MOP work by; developing universal policies, providing conditional funding, linking funding to milestones in a project plan/programme and measuring your progress against the targets […]
Far, Far Away Land Syndrome
Life in Far, Far Away Land is so much better than here… I’ve been watching a lot of Shrek recently. I’ve also been attending seminars and learning about good practice through the medium of beautifully presented case studies. For anyone not familiar with Shrek, it’s your classic fairy tale. Everything we need in a good […]
What is the opposite of a Mystery Shopper?
Do public complaints make a difference? I’m always intrigued when people take to Twitter or other social media platforms to complain about a product or service. Firstly I’m wondering, does this actually make a difference? Do things improve? Secondly, if that person is a ‘Big-Wig’ in an organisation, I’m led to thinking… ‘I wonder if […]
Homologation Special! Regulation *can* Drive Innovation.
But, it depends… Whether or not a regulation process (including inspection, audit and any other ‘control’ method you can think of) actually ‘drives’ innovation depends on a lot of things. For me, the biggest influence is ‘purpose’. If your main purpose is to ‘enforce’ compliance with clearly defined rules or standards it could be a […]
What does the Military have to do with Net Zero?
Quite a lot as it happens. But first, consider this… Fleet Oaks. Fleet Oaks is the name given to oak trees that are planted with the sole purpose of providing the building material (wood, specifically oak) required for naval ships. Growing oak trees isn’t a quick enterprise. My interest was triggered by a recent Tweet […]
Asshole friends. Why are they necessary?
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 […]
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