Aggregated enterprise architecture wisdom
That is what several people asked me in the last few weeks. I have even made one quick attempt to answer but then I realised that the topic deserves more clarification. While I have a lot of sympathy for those that object to ‘Best Practice’ as a name – even more – to those that object […]
The division of labour has been the main principle for structuring organisations in the last two centuries. That is still the dominant approach for allocating resources, information and power in companies and public institutions. The new dynamics in a connected world have revealed a rich spectrum of problems related with these structures ranging from ineffective coordination to […]
That was the topic of a talk I gave in October last year at an Enterprise Architecture event in London. These are the slides, or most of them, anyway. They probably don’t tell the story by themselves and I’m not going to help them here unless this post provokes a discussion. What I’ll do instead […]
Organisations are fighting for relevance in a larger market place where brand names and size are less of a factor. Customers are now looking for the products and services which deliver the outcomes they need, regardless of who provides them. Being able to meet these demands at speed and scale will be fundamental in achieving Read More
I have been a strong advocate of implementing Personal Learning Plans (PLP) for employees for years. This concept was introduced to me during my years working at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. I used the Personal Learning Plan process to help my teams improve their abilities in the jobs they have and to advance their […]
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Technology is playing a much bigger role in customer’s lives, and is changing the way senior management view the IT department. Historically the CIO’s role was to keep the lights running, now however, IT is considered to not only be the key to unlocking new revenue, but also a way of keeping up with the Read More
Where do we place IT in the reporting structure of an organization? The topic of reporting structures and IT’s placement has nagged me for years. The typical answer is “it depends” and that is not wrong. Based on my experiences, I am firmly convinced that IT needs to report to the Chancellor/President/CEO, essentially the top level in […]
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These are part of the frames from the projects-flavour of the “Essential Balances” theme, delivered in a workshop format at a training event yesterday in Athens. Tweet This Post
The old analogy is of a graceful Swan seemingly effortlessly gliding through the water, whilst out of sight its submerged legs are kicking furiously in unseen effort.
The ‘Inverted Swan’ is the antithesis of the traditional analogy. The swans legs are out of the water flailing and flapping ineffectively in the air, whilst underneath the water, who knows? where is the grace in the work?
I see the inverted Swan more than i’d like to. Lots of industry with little value produced. Often caused by:
There should always be room for grace.
There should always be room to progress from merely viable to loveable.
When do you see the inverted swan?
How could we make sure we see it less?
I’ve been arguing repeatedly that trying to get the Viable System Model from overviews, introductions and writings based on or about it, can put the curious mind in a state of confusion or simply lead to wrong interpretations. The absolute minimum is reading at least once each of the three books explaining the model. But […]
The “slides” supporting my talk on Requisite Inefficiency a couple of months ago have been on Slideshare since then but I haven’t had the time to share them here. Which I do now. The various manifestations of Requisite Inefficiency in both organisms and organisations can be understood by observing the maintenance of balances between homeostasis […]
Let people know they matter. Steps for a leader.
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