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Diverge or Converge?
When we use divergent thinking we can imagine any possibility, head off in any direction and deliberately diverge from the conventional. Criticism and judgment are temporarily suspended while we explore possibilities. When we use convergent thinking we are trying to narrow down options to one or more preferred choices. We use analysis, criticism, logic, argument…
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Sustainable change needs home-grown leaders
Making improvements to the way your team or organisation works is hard. Changes have a habit of yielding initial improvements, but failing to sustain over the longer term. The reason for this is that the change needs to be embedded or absorbed by the organization’s culture. The mistake we’ve seen many organisations make is that…
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How would you rate the Agile tribe?
“If we understand culture better, we will understand ourselves better and recognise some of the forces acting within us that define who we are.” – Edgar Schein Understanding some common patterns in group behaviour can help us identify options for introducing change in organisations. David Logan has done some research on this and has produced…
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How to deal with resistance to change?
When introducing new ideas in an organisation, we often face resistance. Having a structured approach for handling resistance can help to minimise risk and improve the chances of success. A method that I have found helps is to consider each of the main stakeholders based on a couple of parameters: whether they are supporters or…
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How to influence decision making?
Linda Rising talks about patterns for introducing new ideas to an organisation. One of the patterns that I often use is the ‘Corridor Politics’. Although I don’t like the name of the pattern, it’s one of the really useful techniques I have come across. “Informally work on decision makers and key influencers before an important vote to…
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#LESS2012 Best Talk of the Conference
Having enjoyed a great 2 day conference with many speakers who are really the experts in their fields, my conference experience ended with a lovely (and completely unexpected) gesture. My talk “Lean and the Enterprise: Maersk Line’s Journey” was awarded the “Best Talk of the Conference” by the organising committee. Below are the slides from my talk.…
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#LESS2012 – Tallinn, Estonia November 12-14, 2012
Abstract: Does your organisation treat I.T. like a factory, taking orders from “the business”? Does your funding and approval process force you to work in large batches with commitment to fixed time, budget and scope? Do your KPIs lead people to optimise for their role or department? Do your legacy applications limit how fast your…