Wicked Problems

  • 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

    The Desperate Need To Reorganise Our Resources
  • The Problem With Chasing Zeroes

    Stowe Boyd posed a very good question in response to my recent piece on colliding crises. “What if crises are not of the sort that can be attacked and surmounted in a ‘short period of time’? The US housing crisis (and UK)… Continue reading

    The Problem With Chasing Zeroes
  • The Problem With Constantly Finding Problems

    Our brain is constantly searching for problems to fix, even when that problem is reducing. When something becomes rare, we tend to see it in places more than ever. Anyone whose job involves reducing the prevalence of something should know… Continue reading

    The Problem With Constantly Finding Problems
  • The Problem With Finding Answers

    Don’t Look for a Great Idea. Look for a Good Problem – Greg Satell Yesterday I spent five and half hours in a room with my colleagues Carole and Simon trying to get to the root of a problem. Three… Continue reading

    The Problem With Finding Answers
  • How Do We Know Our Organisations Are Really Succeeding?

    Every day, organisations promise to make the world a better place. How do we know they are really succeeding? The National Health Service we are told is the world’s best healthcare system.  Yet the NHS has a poor record on one fairly… Continue reading

    How Do We Know Our Organisations Are Really Succeeding?