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What Are You Missing?

3 April, 2016 by James Lawther 3 Comments

Waiting Room

I have to manage your expectations It is a horrible phrase. I hate it when somebody says to me. It means that I am not going to get what I want when I want it. I am being softened up. There is going to be a delay. Suddenly I am thrown into the cost or […]

Filed Under: Blog, Operations Analysis Tagged With: assumptions, innovation, medicine, queue, TED talks, waiting

The Handoff

26 March, 2016 by James Lawther 4 Comments

Hand off

I am not a Luddite Technology is a good thing.  As it evolves we find new solutions to problems: We invent new applications We write new algorithms We build new tools We develop new drugs Technology pushes us forward. Technology needs specialist knowledge All that new technology is difficult to get your mind around. People need […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: complexity, information technology, medicine, systems thinking

SMART Goals, VAGUE Dreams

25 March, 2016 by Tobias Mayer 7 Comments

Dreams

SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely. Nothing apparently unreasonable there. And yet this whole approach jars. It feels very controlling, very blinkered, and very task-oriented. It is a method that allows managers to “objectively” assess their direct reports, and grade them accordingly, so finds great popularity with HR departments and the mindset prevalent in […]

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement Tagged With: assumptions, human nature, management style, objective setting, SMART goals

Do You Know Where You Are Going?

22 March, 2016 by James Lawther 5 Comments

Unifying Purpose

Stating the bleeding obvious… When I was in my 20’s I went on a course.  The instructor put up a slide.  It looked like this: His point was simple.  To be successful create alignment.  Make sure everybody is pulling in the same direction.  It was such an obvious point that I wondered why on earth […]

Filed Under: Blog, Wild Cards Tagged With: human nature, organisation, purpose

Layering Your Problems In

13 March, 2016 by James Lawther 6 Comments

Creating Problems

How to cook a leg of lamb When my wife cooks a leg of lamb she asks me to cut off the last 7 inches – the shank. Cutting the last few inches off a leg of lamb is not easy.  It requires a hack saw and good deal of gusto.  By the time the […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: bad process, complexity, quality control, reinforcing behaviour, waste, work around

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