Posts Tagged ‘methodology’

Changing minds, changing rules

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

If you read my CV or wander around here on my blog, you will probably notice that I worked across many industries.

And not only bottom-line oriented: also non-profit and cultural.

This post is about the difference about changing rules and changing minds, and some potential uses in the political, business, personal environment.

Highlights:
who controls the controller?

first extreme: the consensus-building inserted in a rule-oriented environment

Second extreme: the rule-orientation inserted in consensus-building environment

Weaknesses in training, weaknesses in results

do your new rules consider the organizational cultural environment?

introducing a change in rules requires changing mindsets

step-by-step: “terraforming” for rules change

Connecting the dots: thinking outside the box

Saturday, May 30th, 2009

On how interpretation based on experience is not necessarily the best strategy.

And alternative approaches (with examples).

GMN2009: Games

Monday, May 18th, 2009

You want your model to work in reality, and therefore you have to assume that others have their own models.

It is a game. Like playing chess. Or the usual “prisoner’s dilemma”.

From models, we will move to the interaction between models- and between different decision paths within a model.

A down-to-earth introduction to the game theory.

This post is part of a series, first published in May 2009.

GMN2009: Reality

Friday, May 15th, 2009

When you build a model of reality, you try to reduce complexity.

Reducing complexity means making choices- and reducing the risk of something unexpected affecting the results of your model.

Actually, it means also reducing the number of parameters- and, therefore, making any evolution in your world more predictable.

But reality is not necessarily limited by your definition: and managing the reality within a model requires more that planning beforehand for what you know, in terms of activities or risks.

You have also to identify what is the “normal” way in which your model will react to unexpected changes in the “reality” surrounding your model.

This post is part of a series, first published in May 2009.

GMN2009: Risk

Thursday, May 14th, 2009

If you identify the “risks”, what could affect the conditions that you assumed that could affect your execution of the plan, then you will end up monitoring that:

  • you are using the resources identified if, when, how planned
  • the risks you already decided to keep under control
  • whatever new happens around you that could affect your plan
  • last but not least: that the activity you planned for still makes sense

It is not just the journey that you have to keep in check; it is also the destination.

This post is part of a series, first published in May 2009.

GMN2009: Progress

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

GMN2009: PROGRESS

You do not need to know just what you are supposed to do, but also where you are, and where you should be.

If you are a perfect project manager with all the certifications required: probably you should skip this section, as it could be depressingly simple.

But it is not just progress itself- is the measuring and definition of progress that matter.

This post is part of a series, first published in May 2009.

GMN2009: Planning

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009

In my definition, a plan is neither cast in stone, nor just an intellectual exercise done because it is supposed to be done.

But what, after defining a model of your reality, and identifying the changes required and their impacts, should be part of your planning activity?

This post is part of a series, first published in May 2009.

GMN2009: Change

Monday, May 11th, 2009

Any organization, or organized group, whatever its purpose and composition, has what could be defined a “decision inertia”.

Any change has multiple dimensions: time, the environment were the change is carried out, the “stakeholders” (to simplify: whoever, directly or indirectly, is involved, affected, interested by a decision), etc.

In this post, we will briefly see the multiple dimensions of change, and what means managing change.

This post is part of a series, first published in May 2009.