I’ve long been bothered by the concept of “risk appetite”. It’s always seemed one of those things that is both intellectually alluring and impossible to grasp practically. But recently I … Continue reading A simple numerical view of risk appetite
Don’t confuse silhouettes with x-rays
The other day I was reading Patrick Lencioni enthusing about Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality tests. He gave examples of various situations where a clear description of someone’s biases and … Continue reading Don’t confuse silhouettes with x-rays
Uncertainty during transformation
I was speaking to friend recently, who had just taken on a new role leading a large-scale organisational transformation (only part of which involved IT change). Along the way, she … Continue reading Uncertainty during transformation
Goals that show success, but don’t define it
I was reading an article the other day about the dangers of making one-sided judgements about risk (tl;dr: always consider risk and reward together) and in the comments underneath someone … Continue reading Goals that show success, but don’t define it
Embracing sceptical people
I was talking to some people once about enabling change, and one of them asked a very important question: How do you manage the sceptics? Whenever we embark on some … Continue reading Embracing sceptical people
The bell curve of project versus business
I’m due to have a conversation with someone about an ambitious startup-type idea they’re seeking to run within an established company. They have an idea—it might be a great one–and … Continue reading The bell curve of project versus business
Self-organising teams need the skills and the context
I’ve often worked with teams that advocate “self-organisation”. If it can be done then it is wonderful thing—it brings together autonomy and motivation, and great results are very often achieved. … Continue reading Self-organising teams need the skills and the context
Erring on the side of direction
Over the last 12 months I’ve been speaking to people about leadership. Sometimes this is with technical people who are progressing up a career ladder into managment roles; sometimes it … Continue reading Erring on the side of direction
Multiple dimensions of quality assurance
Having spoken and written many times about situations never being black and white, and often having multiple dimensions, I found myself some time ago talking about this in the context … Continue reading Multiple dimensions of quality assurance
Making your point… but not too much
One of my minor frustrations with political discussion is that it’s almost entirely word-based. Radio works well for political discussion; television is the same as radio, but you get to … Continue reading Making your point… but not too much
