Why Do We Still Need Managers?
“Management is not only dysfunctional, Management is also destructive” – Companies Without Managers Last week we held the first of the Bromford #inspiremelab sessions – where colleagues curated and then discussed provocations around the future of how we work. We covered off a range of subjects but the conversation kept coming back to that opening quote ...
What Does Your Social Media Say About Your Organisation?
Please for the love of God can we stop with the Digital by Default, the Digital by Design – It’s just life! – Amy Nettleton There’s a danger we can overthink digital. Whilst organisations grapple with the ‘cultural challenges’ of digital transformation, real people – the citizens, customers and users with more important things to ...
Redefining Trust In A Digital Age
Trust is not coming back. Scepticism reigns, as it should. – Gerry McGovern Since the industrial revolution, a trusting relationship between individuals and organisations has been the norm. This has shaped the way we communicate – both internally and externally. It has resulted in the issuing of corporate annual reports, press releases , customer satisfaction scores ...
Complex Problems Require Rapid Experiments
“Multiple iterations almost always beat a single-minded commitment to building your first idea” – Peter Skillman Most of you will have taken part in the Marshmallow Challenge or a variant of it. It’s the team exercise where you get a load of spaghetti, some tape, a marshmallow, a piece of string, and 18 minutes to ...
The Rules of Digital Transformation
In five years time we’ll look back and realise we had it wrong about digital. Digital transformation was never about digital, and rarely about transformation. It’s actually about the processes by which you change your business model or approach. Some of which will have digital elements. The problem I have with digital cheerleading is two fold: ...
Do You Default To Simplicity – Or Complexity?
Although it doesn’t show up explicitly in any personality test, some people seem to be more prone to creating complexity than others. Instead of cutting to the heart of an issue, they tangle it further; rather than narrowing down projects, they allow the scope to keep expanding –Ron Ashkenas Are you a simplifier or a ...
Thinking Differently Is Slowing Transformation
Despite the perpetual cheerleading for innovation, most of our organisations need to be boringly effective. This week we’ve been mapping our work across 30 service objectives at Bromford – and it strikes me that most of what we do doesn’t need any bells and whistles. It just needs ruthless efficiency. Our innovation efforts really need to ...
Making Sense of Social Media and Learning
In 2017 not using social media as a leader is akin to sitting in a closed office with the door shut and the phone on divert – all day everyday. However – there’s often a gap between social media and our ‘real’ work. Despite the fact that we’ll spend about three years of our lives ...
Do Industry Awards Inspire or Inhibit Innovation?
This week Bromford was announced the winner of the ‘Outstanding innovation of the year’ recognising our approach to testing and developing new services. Philippa Jones, our chief executive, said: “This is fantastic recognition for so many colleagues and customers who have been at the very forefront of helping us test and shape our new approach – ...
How Much Good Does Your Organisation Really Achieve?
We don’t usually think of achievements in terms of what would have happened otherwise, but we should. What matters is not who does good but whether good is done.” ― William MacAskill, Doing Good Better We all love an uplifting story of a simple innovation that solves a tricky social problem. Anyone who’s been to ...
