Tag Archives: Vanguard method

How to spoil someone for work (for ever more)

Posted on July 15, 2016 by

  There were 7 reasons why you shouldn’t touch systems thinking, and here’s an 8th… 8: You might get a sniff of systemsy heaven, but then end up working in command and control hell. Systems thinking makes no promises about being … Continue reading →

Posted in systems thinking, systemz comix, targets | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Write your own blog post!

Posted on November 14, 2015 by
Posted in systems thinking, systemz comix, vanguard method | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Why I cannot stand leaders

Posted on October 26, 2015 by

I just cannot stand leaders. Simply cannot stand the very idea of leaders. Look at them! Look how special they think they are! Look how special we think they are. It’s our own fault, we fetishize them. We call them … Continue reading →

Posted in command and control, knowledge, leadership, systems thinking, vanguard method | Tagged , , | 21 Comments

One weird trick to outfox the Henry Ford gambit

Posted on May 30, 2015 by

I done got a letter from a reader! Here is a dramatic reconstruction…. Remember these two diagrams? THIS one, the usual, the boring old triangle? And then there is this one, the one thats not a triangle, the one that … Continue reading →

Posted in all wrong, command and control, plausible but untrue, public sector, purpose, strategic, systems thinking | Tagged , , , , ,

Fedoras and other hallmarks of failure

Posted on November 23, 2014 by

Have you noticed the HUGE amount of men in their 20s and 30s who wear Fedoras? A fedora is a hat that Humphrey Bogart or Indiana Jones wears. However the typical fedora wearer these days looks more like this… As Urban Dictionary … Continue reading →

Posted in all wrong, systems thinking, thinking, tools, vanguard method | Tagged , ,

Why targets are good

Posted on September 29, 2014 by

Targets are good. They work. Comparing this quarters performance with last quarters, is good. It works Benchmarking performance against a group of other organisations, is good. That works too. Calm down! Let’s go back a bit…. Q: What’s the first … Continue reading →

Posted in data, systems thinking, targets, thinking, vanguard method | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

7 ways to do the Vanguard Method all wrong

Posted on June 12, 2014 by

Read this first. It was very popular and there’s marbles in it. If you’re too lazy here’s a summary: I went to the executive leadership team, I talked to them about something that started with studying demand and eventually led to huge … Continue reading →

Posted in me doing it, systems thinking, vanguard method | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments