We fall in love with our models, our processes and our standards. They’re helpful when they help us to make sense of the world, but they can also get in the way. What we sometimes forget is that they were all invented to provide a perspective on a problem. That means we can change them, adapt them, evolve them and dispense with them when they stop providing value.
There Is A Time For Planning…
Most of us like plans, and we like to plan. We like to know what’s coming, and where we are trying to go. And then life throws you a curveball, and you have to respond. A guide to navigating life when crisis strikes.
Culture Matters
Culture matters. That might seem obvious to say, but we tend to ignore that when it comes to process design and organizational change. We can see that when implementing process, what works depends upon context. But the challenge is reading context accurately, and making appropriate choices that work. We need to lead with culture and follow with practice, not the other way around.
On Writing
I write. A lot. I work as a management consultant, but it could be argued instead that I’m a professional writer. My work products are reports, documents, presentations and emails. Over the course of my career, though, how I write—and what I focus on and value—has evolved. A great deal.
So What?
We try to understand situations, analyze problems and offer solutions. We believe that they solutions will be understood on their own merits. That the general insights we offer will be translated into personal implications that people are prepared to embrace and run with. And we would be wrong. A meditation on the importance of two words.
Doing The Work We Were Meant To Do
We want to do good work. We aspire to do amazing, transcendent work. That doesn’t happen very often. When it does happen, it is very good indeed. What is critical is recognizing what allows us to actually do it.