Category Archives: clarity of purpose

The Kung Fu Panda principle.

Posted on September 23, 2017 by

Imagine you want to buy a bar of chocolate from a supermarket. You are sitting at home, so you need to get in your car, you need to drive to the supermarket, you need to park the car, you need … Continue reading →

Posted in clarity of purpose, command and control, purpose, systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

I am a police officer. 

Posted on August 23, 2017 by

When people ask me, “So what do you do, where’d you work?” I reply… I’m a Policy Officer And inevitably people mishear that as police officer. “Oh really!” they exclaim, looking me up and down with surprise. Then I have … Continue reading →

Posted in clarity of purpose, systems thinking | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

If it’s too complicated to understand it’s probably total nonsense

Posted on March 18, 2017 by

I stand on the periphery of “improvement activities” going on elsewhere in the organisation. I see things second and third hand through organisational gossip, i.e. people mentioning phrases or names of IT companies doing work elsewhere, somewhere. I’ve got no involvement … Continue reading →

Posted in clarity of purpose, command and control, public sector, systems thinking | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Why killing Sweat Angels is the most valuable work I do all day

Posted on January 4, 2017 by

Most readers of this blog probably sit behind a desk all day, like me. Sipping tea in nice surroundings with nice people. They don’t have to push a mop around the floor cleaning up after others. Dreaming about the dignity … Continue reading →

Posted in clarity of purpose, command and control, purpose, systems thinking, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

Cloud cuckoo-land

Posted on December 27, 2016 by

“What matters to me as a customer is getting everything for free. I’d appreciate it if all organisations could just go ahead and arrange that please. No, I didn’t think so.” This comment left on a recent post shows the typical command … Continue reading →

Posted in clarity of purpose, command and control, customer, Demand, systems thinking, vanguard method | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

One weird trick to design your organisation, in one easy step! (Management consultants will HATE you!)

Posted on December 11, 2016 by

Don’t design your organisation for efficiency for managing demand for digital by default to achieve strategic priorities by copying best practice So what do you do then? Do Design against customer purpose That’s it. The predictable value demands presented by … Continue reading →

Posted in clarity of purpose, command and control, customer, purpose, systems thinking, vanguard method | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Computers are weird

Posted on November 25, 2016 by

Computers are weird. People sit with both open hands held next to each other in front of their body, their palms down. Fingers wiggling. They call this work. They call it work cos they’re at work, and that’s where they … Continue reading →

Posted in clarity of purpose, command and control, purpose, systems thinking, vanguard method | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

How NOT to do demand

Posted on January 14, 2016 by

Just like Batman, demand management is an insane attempt to solve a problem. In this case demand  management is an attempt to solve the problem of less money in the public sector, but in a totally insane way. We here … Continue reading →

Posted in all wrong, clarity of purpose, command and control, Demand, purpose, systems thinking, targets, vanguard method | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

What business are you in?

Posted on January 29, 2015 by

 I was in Chicago airport, drinking from a water fountain, and I saw this out the corner of my eye…. I was intrigued, so I squatted  down next to the pillar and read the words… This is telling the poor … Continue reading →

Posted in clarity of purpose, purpose, systems thinking | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Three  things that will make you a brill presenter

Posted on December 14, 2014 by

Q: What’s better than the world’s best PowerPoint? A: No PowerPoint. Literally. The internet is full of good stuff on how to do, and not do, PowerPoint. The VERY best thing to do is avoid it altogether. Whatever you do, … Continue reading →

Posted in clarity of purpose, communication, psychology, systems thinking | Tagged , ,

How to be Bert or Ernie

Posted on April 18, 2014 by

. This is what happens in every organisation I’ve been in when someone more important asks someone less important for something. The someone-less-important doesn’t feel they can ask more about what it is that is needed, as the someone-more-important has … Continue reading →

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How do you make it hard to find a job?

Posted on December 5, 2013 by

It is hard enough to find a job if you need one, but if you don’t work, the system that is supposed to support you find a job certainly doesn’t work too. It is broken at the most crucial part … Continue reading →

Posted in clarity of purpose, public sector, purpose, systems thinking, systemz comix | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Wag the dog

Posted on November 29, 2013 by

Who wags the tail? Spot wags the tail. Who wags the tail where you work? I have learnt that everything starts with the customer. Resident, patient or pupil, whoever When they contact the doctor/council/police/whatever that’s where things start. You: -start … Continue reading →

Posted in clarity of purpose, command and control, customer, public sector, systems thinking | Tagged , | 1 Comment

How to spot what’s in charge at work

Posted on November 5, 2013 by

Seth told us today how to tell who is important in an organization by using coloured badges. In an important project his company had worked out the “critical path”, the things that had to be done before anything else could … Continue reading →

Posted in clarity of purpose, command and control, purpose, systems thinking | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Head-smashed-in buffalo jump

Posted on November 2, 2013 by

Yes, you read right. Head-smashed-in buffalo jump. For 6,000 years in North America the Blackfoot tribe ate, dressed and made their homes with bison that fell to their deaths at some cliffs called Head-smashed-in Buffalo jump The bison were not … Continue reading →

Posted in clarity of purpose, command and control, public sector, purpose, systems thinking, thinking | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Twerking or working?

Posted on October 27, 2013 by

Rule 1: Twerking is not the same as working! If you worked here how could you know what “work” actually was? You’ve only seen twerking. If you work in a place where you get your purpose from the mouth of a … Continue reading →

Posted in clarity of purpose, command and control, human brains are weird, leadership, public sector, purpose, systems thinking | Tagged , | Leave a comment

4 German words we should all use

Posted on August 24, 2013 by

The Germans have a language that seems a bit like Lego. You can stick lots of little bits together to make a new one that has never existed before. This way they can make all sorts of useful new words … Continue reading →

Posted in clarity of purpose, command and control, leadership, systems thinking | Tagged , | 30 Comments

Poof goes the purpose

Posted on May 22, 2013 by

“When people stop believing in God, they don’t believe in nothing — they believe in anything.” G.K. Chesterton Anything goes when purpose isn’t there to tie everyone to reality. There’s no fad too superficial, no gimmick too glib, no novelty … Continue reading →

Posted in clarity of purpose, communication, me doing it, systems thinking | Tagged | 15 Comments

Purposeful parts

Posted on February 3, 2013 by

Organisms and organisations are systems that usually have purposes of their own. However, the parts of an organism (i.e., hearts, lungs, brain) do not have purposes of their own, but the parts of an organisation do. An organisation with purposeful … Continue reading →

Posted in clarity of purpose, customer, purpose, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Meet Henry

Posted on January 29, 2013 by

This man is Henry Rollins. He is one mean mother, as you can probably tell. He is also a publisher, stand up comedian, poet and bodybuilder. This is from his essay where he talks about lifting weights, something he credits … Continue reading →

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Sets of things that are together as a whole thinking

Posted on January 21, 2013 by

They say that if you can’t describe simply what something is, so somebody who doesn’t know about it can understand it, then you don’t really know it yourself. Look here! This is from here, a description of the different parts … Continue reading →

Posted in Check, clarity of purpose, communication, vanguard method | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Ox

Posted on January 9, 2013 by

You need not see what someone is doing to know if it is his vocation, you have only to watch his eyes: a cook mixing a sauce, a surgeon making a primary incision, a clerk completing a bill of lading, … Continue reading →

Posted in clarity of purpose, psychology, systems thinking | Tagged , | 3 Comments

We build ships

Posted on December 11, 2012 by
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I am Luke Skywalker

Posted on November 18, 2012 by

A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow … Continue reading →

Posted in clarity of purpose, experiment, it depends, systems thinking | Tagged , | 2 Comments

When is a purpose NOT a purpose?

Posted on October 29, 2012 by

When anything is done for… auditing purposes health & safety purposes regulatory purposes compliance purposes monitoring purposes inspection purposes training purposes regulation purposes data protection purposes data sharing purposes data purposes policy purposes transparency purposes statistical purposes watch-your-back purposes scatological … Continue reading →

Posted in all wrong, clarity of purpose, purpose, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 1 Comment

the right way round: a cut out’n’keep guide

Posted on September 24, 2012 by

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Paper Purpose

Posted on September 7, 2012 by

“the direction in which a compass needle normally points, towards the horizon on the left-hand side of a person facing east, or the part of the horizon lying in this direction” Now you have those careful clear words from the … Continue reading →

Posted in clarity of purpose, command and control, purpose, systems thinking, Uncategorized | Tagged | 4 Comments

Think Dolphin

Posted on August 5, 2012 by

If your purpose is vague and hazy, start finding out, go out and get knowledge about it. Look anywhere but a document. It’s never in there. Purpose doesn’t come with version control, isn’t written by a strategic planner and never … Continue reading →

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Thank Crunchie!

Posted on August 3, 2012 by

Keep systems thinking, and have a lovely day!

Posted in all wrong, clarity of purpose, command and control, psychology | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Purpose eats leadership for breakfast

Posted on August 2, 2012 by

Take a good close-up look at this picture. That is the first thing that appears when I Google images of “leadership”. Not “dictator” or “complete dick” even. But who are the real dicks? The guy surfing the arrow, or the … Continue reading →

Posted in clarity of purpose, command and control, leadership, systems thinking | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Prince laid bare

Posted on July 27, 2012 by

Everybody loves Prince. The diminutive thex thimble, with his cheeky pencil moustache and cheeks hanging out of a pair of leather chaps, who wouldn’t? And everybody loves PRINCE too. The flabby paper factory, with its deliverables hanging out of a … Continue reading →

Posted in clarity of purpose, plans, purpose | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Why did I ring you today?

Posted on July 23, 2012 by

Was it: to increase your customer satisfaction score? to increase the % of calls you answer? to increase the % of calls you answer within 20 seconds? to decrease your “wrap-time”? to increase the % of calls you handle between … Continue reading →

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Milking turnips

Posted on July 3, 2012 by

Firefighter, School Crossing Patrol, Police Officer, Ambulance Paramedic.  You can tell from the uniforms. Go into any workplace and see if by standing at the door you can tell what it is that happens there. If you are at the … Continue reading →

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Alchemy

Posted on June 26, 2012 by

There’s no such thing as alchemy. Despite that, I have been disappointing senior managers for years by failing to produce gold out of dross. Alchemy is still believed in, at the highest levels of organisations. There are senior managers who believe that the … Continue reading →

Posted in clarity of purpose, command and control, data, learning | Tagged , | 24 Comments

How clean is my table?

Posted on May 9, 2012 by

The last post was about there being “no true value” of a measure, unless you define what you mean to measure, and that the way to know what you are supposed to be measuring is to define measure by purpose. … Continue reading →

Posted in clarity of purpose, deming, purpose, systems thinking, Uncategorized | Tagged | 1 Comment

No true value

Posted on May 8, 2012 by

How many continents are there? 7! Say most people. North America South America Europe Africa Asia Australia Antarctica Continents are generally “understood to be large, continuous, discrete masses of land, ideally separated by expanses of water.” Asia, Africa and Europe … Continue reading →

Posted in clarity of purpose, learning, purpose | Tagged , | 2 Comments

A Koch in a car

Posted on April 22, 2012 by

This man (above) is in a car aiming a Heckler and Koch gun at the photographer. This Koch in a car got away with it this week following pressure from the UK government on the French police to not pursue … Continue reading →

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A tawdry end

Posted on April 20, 2012 by

As you are no doubt aware, I had a gas leak. I complained about it, and there was a to-do over whether some boxes were ticked, or whether gas leaked out of a pipe. Both can’t be true, obviously. It … Continue reading →

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Thinkpurpose of chocolate

Posted on April 13, 2012 by

It’s 5 days after Easter and the local supermarket has piles of reduced price chocolate Easter eggs by the checkouts. The egg above is a premium brand of milk chocolate, organic and contains a luxurious 37% cocoa solids, high for … Continue reading →

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Punk rock purpose

Posted on March 20, 2012 by

There you go, 3 chords, now form a band. This cartoon from a Punk fanzine in the late 70’s tells you that you, yes you, can form a band. No years of training, no expert or arcane knowledge. It doesn’t … Continue reading →

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I smell something rotten, and it’s not gas

Posted on March 15, 2012 by

I had a gas leak last night. I live in a house that is about 50 years old, and I was contacted about 18 months ago by our gas infrastructure owner to replace and update my gas meter. After many … Continue reading →

Posted in all wrong, clarity of purpose, command and control, systems thinking | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

So you work in The Adminisphere…

Posted on March 13, 2012 by

That’s OK! You can still learn lessons from your mug of tea. What can you learn from this mug of tea? Assuming you work in the adminisphere, and are therefore an adminisphereaucrat for short, look at the work you are … Continue reading →

Posted in clarity of purpose, customer, deming, systems thinking, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

3 reasons why job descriptions are phooey

Posted on March 6, 2012 by

Silly. Un-needed. Harmful at times. They not worth the paper they are written on.   The paper they are written on Read on for why!

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Let’s rewrite Seth again!

Posted on November 9, 2011 by

Again, it’s a crime but here is Seth as he’s meant to be, as the systems thinker he doesn’t know he is. From here.   There’s nothing wrong with having a plan Plans are great. But purpose is better. Purpose survives when … Continue reading →

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Everyone is strategic or no-one is

Posted on November 6, 2011 by

C&C Manager: “Where are your strategic measures then?” ST Manager: [pointing at a control chart] “Here. This is our most important measure, our measure of purpose. This is how we know how well we are doing.” C&C Manager: “No, you’ve shown me … Continue reading →

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Clarity of purpose

Posted on October 15, 2011 by

“Great white shark. A mackerel! No, some man diving in a pool. Like that painting! No. Not that, erm, no idea. Whitebait!”

Posted in clarity of purpose, Uncategorized, very short posts | Tagged | 1 Comment

Clarity of realpolitik

Posted on October 5, 2011 by

“Nations have no permanent friends or allies, they only have permanent interests.”    Lord Palmerston, 19th century prime minister and foreign secretary There’s purpose for you.

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