Aggregated enterprise architecture wisdom
Today, I want to question the sage wisdom of Security Architecture Professionals. The notion of defense-in-depth may need to be revisited. More security doesn’t necessarily mean better security. In fact, the current strategy of most organizations—layering on many different technologies—is not only proving ineffective, it is overly complex and expensive. This notion needs better enterprise […]
The post Revisiting Defense in Depth… appeared first on James McGovern.
I have seen some people running around with the message to digitalise everything with the same brain emptiness like some Jehovah witnesses or free thinkers. The key with digitalisation is first to ask yourself about the consequences and the causality chain, before starting to act on a solution. So when you deal with caring or … Continue reading Digital death →
AUSTRALIAN CONSULTING TEAM UNITES WITH THE NORTHERN CONSULTING BRAND Australian Strategy & Architecture Consultancy Enterprise Architects* has rebranded its Australian consulting arm to FromHereOn, joining its northern hemisphere offshoot of the same name to become a single, […]
The post Announcement: FromHereOn, It’s Different appeared first on Enterprise Architects.
In his 1967 book on Organizational Intelligence, Harold Wilensky praises President Franklin Roosevelt for his unorthodox but apparently effective management style.”Roosevelt devised an administrative structure that would baffle any conventional student…
In his 1967 book on Organizational Intelligence, Harold Wilensky praises President Franklin Roosevelt for his unorthodox but apparently effective management style.
“Roosevelt devised an administrative structure that would baffle any conventional student of public administration.” (p53)
. @tonyjoyce Roosevelt set up “constructive rivalry … structuring work so that clashes would be certain”. Wilensky on #orgintelligence pic.twitter.com/MczcrYlypI— Richard Veryard (@richardveryard) April 8, 2017
A horrible management technique designed to keep your subordinates so busy fighting with each other they can’t challenge you for leadership https://t.co/WSOiHagBOx— Jon H Ayre (@EnterprisingA) April 8, 2017
In contrast with FDR’s approach, Wilensky notes some episodes where White House intelligence systems were not fit for purpose, including Korea (Truman) and the Bay of Pigs (Kennedy).
What about President Trump’s approach? @tonyjoyce suggests that Trump is failing FDR’s first construct – checking and balancing official intelligence vs unorthodox sources. However, Reuters (via the Guardian) quotes Republican strategist Charlie Black, who believes Trump’s White House reflects his traditional approach to running his business. “He’s always had a spokes-to-the-wheel management style,” said Black. “He wants people with differing views among the spokes.“
Sources
Reuters, Kushner and Bannon agree to ‘bury the hatchet’ after White House peace talks (Guardian, 9 April 2017)
Related posts
Delusion and Diversity (October 2010)
The Art of the New Deal – Trump and Intelligence (February 2017)
Another Update on Deconfliction (April 2017)
It’s still EA, just not as you know it. Of all the things you can voluntarily choose to do in life – there are three things that you would never do without serious justification. One […]
The post FromHereOn, the Future of Enterprise Architecture appeared first on Enterprise Architects.
As the situation in Syria goes from worse to worser, the word “deconfliction” has reappeared in the press. On Friday, following a chemical attack on the Syrian population apparently by the Syrian government, the USA bombed a Syrian government airbase.
“Russian forces were notified in advance of the strike using the established deconfliction line. US military planners took precautions to minimize risk to Russian or Syrian personnel located at the airfield,” said a Pentagon spokesperson.
A few hours later, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced it was suspending the deconfliction agreement, accusing the Americans of “a gross, obvious and unwarranted violation of international law”.
The normal purpose of deconfliction is to avoid so-called “friendly fire”. But in the case of the deconfliction line in Syria, a more practical objective would be to avoid minor incidents that might escalate into major war. (Anne McElvoy quotes a senior former British commander in Iraq talking about the jeopardy of the next crucial months in Syria: “powers tripping over each other – or America hitting the Russians by accident”.) We might fondly imagine that the Pentagon and the Russian Foreign Ministry still share this objective, and will continue to share a limited amount of tactical information for that purpose, despite public disavowals of coordination. Deconfliction as minimum viable coordination.
Much less serious, and therefore more entertaining, is the “friendly fire” that has meanwhile broken out within the White House. Gun metaphors abound (cross-hairs, opened fire). Successful businessmen understand the need to establish clear division of responsibilities and loose coupling between different executives – otherwise everyone needs to consider everything, and nothing gets done. But this is not a simple matter – excessive division of responsibilities results in organizational silos. Large organizations need just enough coordination – in other words, deconfliction. It is not yet clear whether President Trump understands this, or whether he thinks he can follow President Roosevelt’s approach to “creative tension”.
Bethan McKernan, Syria air strikes: US ‘warned Russia ahead of airbase missile bombardment’ (Independent, 7 April 2017 11:42)
May Bulman, US air strikes in Syria: Russia suspends agreement preventing direct conflict with American forces (Independent, 7 April 2017 15:39)
Matt Gertz, Breitbart takes on Jared Kushner: Steve Bannon is shielded as Trump’s son-in-law is in the crosshairs (Salon, 6 April 2017)
Matt Gertz, To Defend Bannon, Breitbart Has Opened Fire On The President’s Son-In-Law (Media Matters, 6 April 2017)
Anne McElvoy, Washington is confused by Trump’s act. What became of America First? (Guardian, 9 April 2017)
Reuters, Kushner and Bannon agree to ‘bury the hatchet’ after White House peace talks (Guardian, 9 April 2017)
Related Posts
What is Deconfliction? (March 2008)
Update on Deconfliction (November 2015)
The Art of the New Deal – Trump and Intelligence (February 2017)
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Gartner predicts that Enterprise Architecture will focus on Digital platforms
Gartner says that by 2
Gartner publishes thought provoking research on the discipline of enterprise architecture. We aid our clients in developing their vision to stage planning a Business-Outcome-Driven Enterprise Architecture. We even provide a toolkit to help determine your business scope and focus. This begs the question, why aren’t we seeing more organizations with high levels of enterprise architecture […]
The post Enterprise Architecture: Why aren’t more organizations moving from good to great? appeared first on James McGovern.
Gartner publishes thought provoking research on the discipline of enterprise architecture. We aid our clients in developing their vision to stage planning a Business-Outcome-Driven Enterprise Architecture. We even provide a toolkit to help determine your business scope and focus. This begs the question, why aren’t we seeing more organizations with high levels of enterprise architecture […]
The post Enterprise Architecture: Why aren’t more organizations moving from good to great? appeared first on James McGovern.
Gartner: “Digital is transforming organizations and EA itself, with digital business platforms emerging as a powerful approach to innovation. EA and technology innovation leaders are promoting these efforts, providing the skills and competencies needed…
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Architecture principles, are they any good?
Architecture principles enable us manage the enterprise complexity by separating concerns, usually by structuring the enterprise in groups of entities which could be developed and …