3 days agoWhat is success and what is failure on LinkedIn? In business? In life?When I was at PwC, the practice I was in won a £139m project — and it was the beginning of the end for us. I got up early to write this, as usual, and cradled my coffee as I pored over my writing prompts. What would be a suitable follow-up to Monday’s very successful post on ‘the problem of classification and nebulosity’? Will today’s post be a relative flop, like the one (that was…Masks3 min read
5 days agoDo things fit into neat categories?Is a Jaffa Cake a biscuit or a cake? Is a flapjack? Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable? Is a worker an employee, a ‘hidden employee’, or a freelancer?Category3 min read
May 19systems change, convening, practice, leadership, sustainability, chat… SIX systems events coming up presented or facilitated by Benjamin TaylorIt me! I haven’t presented or run that many public events recently, and suddenly they all come at once. Here are six in the next couple of months — with info and booking links: “Later in the bar” Mon 23 May 2022 18:30–20:00 UK time, SCiO Informal, open systems practice chat Book at…Systems Thinking3 min read
May 18More monkeys and bananas in organisationWhy do things carry on as they are in business? Why do we block innovation? And what can we do about it? Why do things carry on as they are in business? Why do we block innovation? And what can we do about it? I collect facetious trainer stories —…Change5 min read
May 16Apportunity 2022 — the solutions platformWhat’s one question you would like this incredible lineup of thinkers and entrepreneurs to answer? Here’s a really exciting conference — one which is specifically about ‘finding solutions’ to pressing problems, using the power of innovation, entrepreneurship — and technology. Apportunity 2022 brings together the world’s most inspirational founders, global leaders, senior investors and rising stars to collaborate and share ideas — a platform for…2 min read
May 13Transduction — leading transformation — Issue #50Meta-rationality, anti-war, systems thinking deep dive on Carbon Capture for the Systems Change Alliance, hosting the Public Sector Show, a system approach to identifying vulnerability, ‘levelling up’ — or not (and arguments against), a reality check on social care reform, a car for the Crown and no cooking and budgeting…21 min read
May 11What is meta-rationality?To work from facts and use theories, methods, and logic, we need to deal with the undefinability of the world. So if we want to get something done, we need to think about meta-rationality. Roughly following David Chapman’s scheme (see www.metarationality.com), …Metarationality4 min read
May 9Are you anti-war, or pro-peace?I’ve been wanting for some time to write and post something about the distinction Jonathan Horwitz — who I’ve been lucky enough to learn from — makes between his time in the anti-War movement, and his time in the Peace movement. A couple of weeks ago, he did it better…War3 min read
May 6Transduction — leading transformation — Issue #49Things about public | service | transformation, systems | cybernetics | complexity, ethics in public life, fascinating things and, this week, a warm and lovely puppy. What I’ve learned from my puppy. chosen-path.org Social media really is for sharing pet pictures — sorry, but there’s no way around it. It’s good to have something to…11 min read
May 4What I’ve learned from my puppy.Social media really is for sharing pet pictures — sorry, but there’s no way around it. It’s good to have something to chew on. A backlog of (pe)email can be very distracting. It’s easier to get into a tight corner than get out. No to-do list is more important…2 min read
