by DavidFraser | Feb 3, 2014 | Leadership, Organizations, Relationship Skills, Systems
Have you ever tried to use just one foot when you’re meant to use two? I imagined it wouldn’t be very easy, but I decided I’d better experiment before writing this post… So I tried it today. (We leave nothing to chance in the search for the best information for...
by DavidFraser | Jan 13, 2014 | Leadership, Relationship Skills, Systems
The people are fine, mostly. It’s the systems and processes that are the problem. Last week my faith was to a degree restored in a large financial institution. That’s after an unnecessarily bruising experience at the hands of its automated procedures. Strange how so...
by DavidFraser | Dec 6, 2013 | Change, Leadership, Systems
People on the outside of an organization have the freedom and perspective to see and articulate what’s going on in the inside. They’re not part of the system; they’re not constrained by the responsibilities of office; they’re not invested in the status quo. If wise,...
by DavidFraser | Oct 23, 2013 | Relationship Skills, Systems
We’re brought up on the principle of democracy—one person, one vote. We’re also brought up on the importance of knowledge: “If you think knowledge is expensive, try ignorance” (to paraphrase Derek Bok). But what about when these two meet in opposition? What should...
by DavidFraser | Sep 18, 2013 | Leadership, Personal Mastery, Systems
You have to hit it hard enough to knock it over. Unless you can go round it that is, or dismantle it somehow. Assuming you can’t, there’s no point in wasting energy and getting a sore head by repeatedly bouncing off. You need to amass enough energy to push through the...
by DavidFraser | Jun 17, 2013 | Change, Leadership, Organizational Learning, Systems
I hadn’t thought of it quite like this before… We’re used to the idea that bigger organisations tend to have more inertia than smaller ones. All other things being equal, it’s harder to turn a supertanker than a speedboat. The thing is, there...
