Journal Themes
Playing to win; Playing not to lose
If I am playing to win, I look for possibility. If I am playing not to lose, I look for threats.
From pathology to possibility
Change the object of enquiry - not what is going wrong, but what is gong right, and could go even more right.
Different leaders need different things. Here's where I help.
Sometimes that means working with strategy. Sometimes it means working with governance, delivery, readiness, operating models or change. The specific tools vary but the underlying purpose of Wrixle is consistent: helping people to transform ideas into reality.
Running pilots, trials, proofs of concept
As part of a wider transformation agenda focused on flexible working, a large organisation explored whether tablet devices could become a standard, supported part of its end‑user computing estate
For readiness, start with the decision
Not every project requires readiness management. Every project requires planning, governance and delivery management. Readiness is only needed when the project will culminate in a consequential decision that stakeholders must consciously authorise and then stand behind.
From ideation to action: crossing a difficult gap in transformation
Most transformation programmes begin with no shortage of ideas, ambition, vision, opportunities and potential solutions - but transformation can falter because its difficult to bridge the gap between thinking and doing.
Transformation projects have a human undercurrent
When people work on a transformation programme, they are not always just delivering tasks; they may also be living with uncertainty about their role, their team, their managers, their status, their expertise, their workload, and sometimes their future employment.
When everyone is focused on winning, no one is focused on changing the game.
Businesses can end up trapped in a game: a sole focus on winning is often the enemy of creating new value.
What is Parsons’ AGIL Model?
Talcott Parsons’ work sought to answer a big question: “How do societies maintain stability and order over time?”
Risks & Mitigations for changing a business name
Changing your business name can be a strategic move, but it comes with several risks that are worth considering and mitigating.
Digital tools only create value when the business needs are clear
Whether you have a CTO or not, the principle is the same: technology works best when the business itself is understood clearly.
The very things that make a business excellent in operations make it fragile during change
Capacity often becomes the biggest friction force hampering change delivery - not lack of ambition, not lack of vision, not lack of support, not lack of skill, not lack of money.
Transformation deserves the spotlight
I mean……I’m biased……but I’m ready for Transformation to steal some spotlight from it’s sexier-seeming cousins - Business Development and Innovation. Here’s my case.
Relying on “old playbooks”
A recent World Economic Forum/Bain analysis noted that “It’s now clear the rules of long-term planning are being rewritten” in an era of rolling disruptions.
Technology is the main engine of economic change: Professor Jean-Paul Carvalho
A favoured quote from Professor Jean-Paul Carvalho of the University of Oxford, speaking on the critical role technology has always played in the history of human innovations.
Staring down reality - How resilience shows itself in strategy implementation
Diane Coutu’s Harvard Business Review article, How Resilience Works, reminds me that resilience, in people and in organisations, starts with the courage to see things as they are, not as we wish they were.
Academic foundations behind business development, transformation, and innovation
Many of these theoretical frameworks are both older than many realise, and influence us more than we might think.
The risks of only focusing on business development
Here are some of the key dangers, supported by several noteworthy strategy and innovation theorists.