The Opposite of Work Is Not Play, It Is Dysfunction
Play is a biological necessity. We need it as much as we need food, water, sleep, shelter and sex. All animals play. Man is the only animal that sees it as either a luxury or frivolity.
The Secret to Taming Your Messiest Problems (Part III in a series on Wicked Problems)
This is the final article in a three part series on Wicked Problems. If you missed Part I (the difference between Simple, Complex and Wicked problems), click here and for Part II click here. So you’ve diagnosed your problem and have most likely come to the conclusion that at least a significant chunk of it is…
Your Biggest Problem is Impossible to Solve — And That’s a Good Thing (PART II IN A SERIES ON WICKED PROBLEMS)
This is Part II of a three part series on Wicked Problems. If you missed Part I (the difference between Simple, Complex and Wicked problems), click here. For Part III, click here. So how do you tell what kind of a problem yours is? Any of these sound familiar? The company restructure looks great on…
Your Biggest Problem is Impossible to Solve — And That’s a Good Thing (PART I IN A SERIES ON WICKED PROBLEMS)
Think of a problem. In fact, think of two. A professional one and a personal one. Problems that are of the gnarly-never-seem-to-go-quietly variety, regardless of how often you take a run at it. Maybe you can’t get a micro-managing boss to give you enough space to do what you can do, or you need to…
The #1 Reason Your Design Thinking Program Isn’t Working and What You Can Do About It
Design thinking is touted to help solve the business problems that existing or BAU processes can’t deal with. Problems like; becoming more innovative, becoming more customer centric, running a successful transformation program, breaking down organisational silos, building “One Team” by engaging your workforce, or perhaps trying to convince a bunch of usually pissed-off stakeholders to…
Want To Think Smarter? Use Atoms not Pixels!
Waddaya made of? Atoms. We are made of atoms and we spend our lives interacting and making with a world of atoms. So instead of sequestering ourselves in our cerebral ivory towers, it makes sense that we should solve problems and create solutions by… using atoms. By using our bodies to think, and by making…
7 Steps To Better Problem Framing In Design Thinking
“If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask… for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.” Albert Einstein Last week a potential new client asked…
You’ve Got Buy-In, So Why Is Your Project Derailing?
The Perils of Buy-in The project had a $30m upside across multiple divisions. Everyone agreed it was a no brainer. They’d given it a cool name and had an elaborate comms plan. They’d spent over $1m on project management and on the external consultants with the impressive track record and proprietary process. Stakeholders were being…
Stop targeting your consumers! (Do you want to kill them?)
The use of the term “targeting” has always driven me nuts. I mean seriously, is that any way to approach someone you want to build a meaningful relationship with? And while we’re at it, who wants to be thought of as a “consumer” — something whose sole purpose is to mindlessly ingest whatever is shoved…
Handling the Overwhelm: sorting your chaos to get unstuck
Well I asked a bunch of you what you wanted to know more about and, apart from the usual existential selection (finding career fulfilment, love, and obedient offspring), the most popular questions are looking for guidelines on running difficult sessions, handling obdurately complex thinkers in a patently wicked space, and recommendations re which are the…
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