RACI for Enterprise Architecture

Companies usually have installed an executive hierarchy. This hierarchy is one that has been evolved and tested over a long period of time. We have reasonably clear ideas about what it should establish. People have one boss, who more or less decides about their roles, assesses their performance, and decides what to do when the […]

Why High Performance Organizations Are Hard to Build

Productive organizations get more work done than expected. High performance organizations produce the unexpected. They not only produce more, they also produce “different”. When most people think of organizational performance, they think first about productivity. Are we getting enough work done? And how do you get a highly productive organization – by focusing on efficiency. […]

At #HseParty14 I curated the creation of a Museum of Future…

At #HseParty14 I curated the creation of a Museum of Future Housing Technology, groups of people came together using various gamestorming and service design techniques to re-imagine business problems through the lenses of disruptive technology trends. I’ll blog in full at a later date, but for now here are the video exhibits

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Defensive denial

… often follows what Freud called “kettle logic“.

“The problem doesn’t exist, and anyway it isn’t a problem for us, and anyway we’re already dealing with it.”

Imagine we ask a manager whether her organization experiences any of the Symptoms of Organizational Stupidity. Suppose she denies it, or says it doesn’t matter. Guess what – defensive denial is one of the symptoms on the list.

In 2008, Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes expressed some bewilderment at his competitor’s success.

“I’ve been frankly confused by this fascination that everybody has with Netflix. … Netflix doesn’t really have or do anything that we can’t or don’t already do ourselves.” 

Denial is a key phase in the hype curve for new ideas (especially but not exclusively technological ones). A concept is rejected as meaningless, dangerous and/or unnecessary, while simultaneously being bundled together with earlier concepts.

“That concept doesn’t make sense, and even if it did it wouldn’t be technologically feasible, and anyway we already have a perfectly good word for it and lots of people are already doing it so we don’t need a new word.”


Brian Klapper, When Corporations Cannot Adapt (aka Fear the Kid in the Black t-shirt) (January 2013)

Related Posts: The Dynamics of Hype (Feb 2013)

Defensive denial

… often follows what Freud called “kettle logic“.

“The problem doesn’t exist, and anyway it isn’t a problem for us, and anyway we’re already dealing with it.”

Imagine we ask a manager whether her organization experiences any of the Symptoms of Organizational Stupidity. Suppose she denies it, or says it doesn’t matter. Guess what – defensive denial is one of the symptoms on the list.

In 2008, Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes expressed some bewilderment at his competitor’s success.

“I’ve been frankly confused by this fascination that everybody has with Netflix. … Netflix doesn’t really have or do anything that we can’t or don’t already do ourselves.” 

Denial is a key phase in the hype curve for new ideas (especially but not exclusively technological ones). A concept is rejected as meaningless, dangerous and/or unnecessary, while simultaneously being bundled together with earlier concepts.

“That concept doesn’t make sense, and even if it did it wouldn’t be technologically feasible, and anyway we already have a perfectly good word for it and lots of people are already doing it so we don’t need a new word.”


Brian Klapper, When Corporations Cannot Adapt (aka Fear the Kid in the Black t-shirt) (January 2013)

Related Posts: The Dynamics of Hype (Feb 2013)

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Staying on Track in the Data Race

As the hype around big data begins to quiet down, more companies are focusing on how they can transform that data into insights and actions that lead to real business benefits. After all, what’s the point of a data initiative if it doesn’t add value? We’re now seeing a race to achieve data-based business objectives, […]

My ‘EA Masterclass’ coming to Australia

What’s the last stage of learning any skill? Answer: ya gotta teach it… And that’s exactly what I’ll be doing down in Australia, starting late next month. Some while ago I said that at last I’d Got Round To It