At one point I was asked to deliver a project in a high-risk, highly-regulated service. It was an area that I hadn't worked-in before and I was pretty anxious to do no harm. Reading through the internal documentation; previous consulting reviews (including one from the big three), reports and project documentation, the organisation had repeatedly tried to solve these problems. … [Read more...] about Whac-a-mole projects
Effectiveness
Beyond Command and Control by John Seddon
If you are interested in profound thinking on transformation, change and improvement then I recommend John Seddon's ‘Beyond Command and Control’ (2019). And for those of you who have read the precursor 'Freedom from Command and Control' (2003), prepare to be surprised. This book marks a genuine departure in both tone and style and I believe it to be Seddon's best work. For its … [Read more...] about Beyond Command and Control by John Seddon
To understand effectiveness university leaders should study demand
One of the quickest ways for university leaders to understand the effectiveness of their services is to study demand. When done right, such studies will provide a student perspective that can act as a sophisticated way to reframe student services. Studying demand in a university As a consultant I conducted a demand analysis (adapted to meet constraints and to fit within … [Read more...] about To understand effectiveness university leaders should study demand
Consulting advice is serious business
Despite widespread humour about business consultants giving advice, it is a serious endeavour. Bad advice harms companies and livelihoods. I wanted to illustrate the mechanics of advice-giving with an example from internal consulting practice. A CIO asks for an opinion A Chief Information Officer (CIO) asked for advice during an IT development freeze. One team had … [Read more...] about Consulting advice is serious business
Seeing distance learning module production as a system
Recently a department responsible for the digital design and build of distance learning modules asked me to assess the feasibility of introducing new technology and agile. A quick-look identified that an expanded study was necessary. Excavating the system It can take some time for a module to progress from initial idea, through the process of design, content creation and … [Read more...] about Seeing distance learning module production as a system