Latest Posts
-
Our Productivity Problem Is Linked To Meaningless Measurement
“What gets measured gets managed—even when it’s pointless to measure and manage it, and even if it harms the purpose of the organisation to do so” There is an opportunity cost to measurement. It can set a very odd behaviour… Continue reading
-
Reciprocity , The Social Contract, and Talking About Tomorrow Today
Reciprocity is a fundamental social principle where people feel obliged to repay actions in kind. If someone does something for you, you feel a sense of obligation to do something for them in return. In a world sometimes reduced to… Continue reading
-
Do We Need A Department of Effectiveness?
As things get really tight, it will feel like the safe thing to do is stick with what you know. Double down on the same processes, hire the same people and hope technology will save us. The problem of course… Continue reading
-
The Anatomy of a Bad Idea
Bad ideas can share several features: They take a complex problem and apply a one-shot solution: the silver bullet that ignores the root cause. They are easy to understand, and don’t require you to know much about the subject. They… Continue reading
-
The Batcave of Innovation: Disruptive Thinking in Healthcare
“The biggest users of pagers are drug dealers, Hezbollah and the NHS” Why has Alder Hey Children’s Hospital innovated in ways the NHS cannot? It’s all about First Principles.. Continue reading
-
What Gets Measured Gets Gamed
Campbell’s Law builds on earlier ideas, notably Goodhart’s Law, which states: “When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.” Campbell extended this concept to social indicators, emphasising the systemic distortions that can arise when metrics… Continue reading
-
The Desperate Need To Reorganise Our Resources
Brooks’ Law is a principle in software development that states: “Adding manpower to a late project makes it later.” It was coined by Fred Brooks in his 1975 book “The Mythical Man-Month” As more people join, the number of communication… Continue reading
-
Place Based Working Upends Business As Usual
There’s a major shift in the Bromford Strategy that upends our legacy business model: our move to place-based working by 2027. But how do you shift to a completely new model within the constraints of a 60 year-old organisation? Continue reading
-
Moving from ‘Decided Upon’ to ‘Decided With’
I’ve recently finished Dan Davies’ book The Unaccountability Machine: Why Big Systems Make Terrible Decisions. In it, he describes how systems have evolved to create “accountability sinks”: situations in which a human system delegates decision-making to a rule book rather… Continue reading
-
Imitation Breeds Mediocrity
Imitation breeds mediocrity. Copying others distracts from developing your own unique strengths and capabilities. True innovation comes from looking inward, understanding your own context and culture, and finding creative solutions that work for you. Copying stifles this. Continue reading
Paul Taylor 