Thought provokers
Browse and explore the various articles below...
Good consultancy is about how to do things, not simply what to do
Boy was I getting frustrated! I was reading the latest version of ISO9000:2015 and the link it says organisations should establish between its quality management system and the organisation’s strategic direction. As I spend all my time helping clients with...
Organisations do not exist: Think social systems
Whilst organisations appear to be organised, social systems emerge naturally and connect, despite organisational structures and boundaries. In reality, we need to view and understand our Organisations as Social systems. If we forget that we miss how people, human...
The six frogs and decision making
Here is a question for you: There are six frogs on a wall. Two frogs decide to jump off. How many frogs are now on the wall? OK, I’ll save you the embarrassment: there are six. Why? The two frogs only decided to jump off; they did not actually jump off. Sorry!...
Strategy does not exist without tensions
Many years ago I realised something while working with clients on their strategy. I realised that there were points in the strategy process and in strategy workshops, when the strategy, as explored, discussed and articulated, was clearly NOT complete. We did not...First choose your approach to strategy, then choose your strategy
In the world of strategic thinking and models there are many ways to think about strategy: but there are also several levels. In this post I want to explore three levels or dimensions. Let me take a simple example. Some people are quite keen on the Michael Porter...Communicating Strategy – Ten heresies
During the initial research for my book, “Communicating Strategy” I found a web site that suggested: “You should not communicate your strategy, as it will leak your strategy to the competition”. I was incensed by this idea. I hope you are also, because,...Methodology is not the same as method: It should be the study of methods
I like to pay attention to our language, because how we speak gives us clues about how we think. In this case how we are failing to think about a subject. The use of one particular word really annoys me. That word is: methodology. Methodology is the study of...
