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Showing posts from March, 2023

Observation 3 - Our understanding of how innovation typically happens is wrong

 Here I am writing, or at least I'm meant to be, but for whatever reason it isn't flowing I'm making no progress.  I try several different angles but none seem to help.  Frustrated by the lack of progress I decide to go for a walk on the beach, one of my favorite things.  I do this partly for the pure joy it  brings me and partly because of the expectation that while I am walking on the beach I will get the idea, the insight that I need to make progress.  It surprises me how often I do get the idea I need, I capture the essence of it on my phone, ponder on it for the rest of the walk and when I get back and start writing progress flows. I reckon we all have some version of this. For you it might be while they are in the shower maybe it's doing housework. Perhaps switching to do some thing completely different or doing absolutely nothing at all. It could be almost anything but most us have had the experience of this moment of insight.  "Eureka" The eureka mo

Observation 2 - Our traditional delivery methods assume a stable knowable environment

 Our world is changing and changing fast.  Despite this the way we deliver change assumes that they environment is stable and knowable in detail to enable accurate planning.  Most organisations, particularly "analogue" organisations deliver change through traditional waterfall methods (eg  PMI or Prince 2), led through a central PMO or perhaps a "transformation team" and require an upfront approval in the form of a business case that specifies scope, task, resources, cost and sometimes benefits.   I define an analogue organisation as one that was established and matured it's business model before the internet was a significant commercial reality aka early 1990's or before. The core assumption of waterfall methodologies is that the project is knowable and can be planned in detail and with certainty.  If this assumption is correct then once approved all we have to do is complete the tasks as planned and project success is more or less guaranteed.  This approac