Target setting and ‘outcome measurement’ are part of a vast industry of checking and ‘holding to account’ but basically it doesn’t work, and probably causes more problems than if you didn’t bother in the first place. That’s a bit controversial…, particularly if you are in the game of; measurement, checking and ‘holding to account’. Let […]
Planting Oak Trees to Build Future Ships. Churchill Fellowship Post 6.
Here’s a quiz. What links these four things together? There are pictures to help you: A replica (under construction)of the Basque Galleon, San Juan, Some strangely shaped pieces of wood, The Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, and A template drawing of the ‘sections’ of a mature oak tree. * There’s a Mayflower II […]
Cool Story Bro… be cautious of Organisational Storytelling and Silver Bullets
Cool Story Bro. I’m feeling mildly guilty at the moment. I might have been a little bit over sceptical and grumpily dismissive of the heartwarming stories told at conference. I know, I sound like a cold-blooded reptile, but I’ll let you decide. For the after lunch slot two highly respected leaders took to the stage […]
Decision Fatigue. How to cope with 35,000 decisions a day by wearing the same clothes
I’m scenario planning at the moment. Please reflect upon this situation. I walk into the office and someone says, “Chris, you filthy minger(*), that’s the same clothes you’ve been wearing for the last 5 days, you smell like a Pole Cat”. My response is as follows: I carefully appraise their swanky outfit, Slowly fill my […]
Cycling to Work, ‘it’s just what we do…’ could Social Practice Theory help?
Here’s a small experiment you can try. Introduce ‘what can we do to encourage cycling to work’ into a conversation. Wait and see how long it takes before someone mentions, ‘The Dutch’. Less than 5 mins I’d wager. Depending on which bit of the internet you believe, 25% of all trips to work in the Netherlands […]
Decision Making. Do you have, Inattentional Blindness, Search Satisfaction and miss the Gorilla?
A Question: In a typical workplace situation, what percentage of information available do you scan (use) to make decisions? Please use the scale below to indicate your answer: Your Answer? In the range 60-70% of available information? Up to 75%? (I’m a logical and rational person) MORE than 75%? (I deal in the evidence!) The […]
Speaking Moth. How (not) to Prepare for a Performance Review
This is a brilliantly weird story I heard last week. Thank you to Andy Middleton from TYF for letting me share it. Saturday Night at the Pub. Picture saturday night in an Australian Outback mining settlement, a good few years ago. At the local (only) Pub is a younger Andy, sampling the hospitality. As the […]
