The Squawk Point

Organisational Mechanics

  • Home
  • Blog
    • People
    • Data
    • Process
    • Wild Cards
    • Index
  • Podcast
  • Book

The Art of Managing Complexity

26 May, 2020 by James Lawther 4 Comments

Fire Fighting In the late noughties, Michelle Barton and Kathleen Sutcliffe carried out a study of wildfires in the US.  They were interested in understanding how the firefighters went about managing complexity in their job. The researchers wanted to understand why some fires were well controlled and brought to a swift and happy conclusion, whilst […]

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement Tagged With: command and control, communication, complexity, culture, gemba, management by wandering around

Walk in My Shoes

17 September, 2018 by James Lawther 2 Comments

In Head Office They think that the people on the shop floor: Can’t see the strategic imperatives Don’t understand the business priorities Don’t use the newly developed tools Aren’t prepared to “own” the running of initiatives Don’t respond to training Are resistant to change Don’t care about performance On the Shop Floor They think that the […]

Filed Under: Blog, Operations Analysis Tagged With: gemba, insight, listening, management by wandering around

There Are Lies, Damned Lies and Descriptive Statistics

1 February, 2018 by James Lawther 7 Comments

Anscombe’s quartet Here are some interesting numbers for you. Interesting in a geeky sort of way… They are 4 sets of readings for two variables, X and Y. That is a horribly algebraic. It brings back memories of a comprehensive school deep in the 1980’s. All polyester blazers and fermenting gym kit. Let me bring the […]

Filed Under: Blog, Operations Analysis Tagged With: Anscombe's quartet, average, data is not information, gemba, key performance indicators, management by wandering around

A Splendid Waste of Time

14 September, 2014 by James Lawther 7 Comments

HMS Ocean

Is management by wandering around a good thing? I was talking to a friend of mine today.  He used to work for the Royal Navy. He navigated ships in his 20’s. Apparently getting H.M.S. Ocean around the Isle of White and into the Solent without sinking some fool in a yacht is no mean feat.  Particularly […]

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement Tagged With: business process management, management by wandering around, management style, process mapping, work instructions

Ignorance and the Hippo

22 June, 2014 by James Lawther 7 Comments

Ignorance and the Hippo

Hidden Problems Ernesto Sirolli tells a lovely story in his book Ripples from the Zambezi: In the 1970’s he worked for an Italian NGO that provided aid for the people of Zambia. One of their projects was to teach the Zambians about agriculture and how to cultivate food. Ernesto tells how they arrived in a […]

Filed Under: Blog, Operations Analysis Tagged With: assumptions, human nature, ignorance, management by wandering around

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next Page »

Explore

accountability assumptions beliefs best practice blame bureaucracy capability clarity command and control communication complexity continuous improvement cost saving culture customer focus data is not information decisions employee performance measures empowerment error proofing fessing up gemba human nature incentives information technology innovation key performance indicators learning management style measurement motivation performance management poor service process control purpose reinforcing behaviour service design silo management systems thinking targets teamwork test and learn trust video waste

Receive Posts by e-Mail

Get the next post delivered straight to your inbox

Creative Commons

This information from The Squawk Point is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Creative Commons Licence
Customer Experience Update

Try This:

  • Regression to The Mean

  • Glory Lasts Forever

  • Fish Bone Diagrams – Helpful or Not?

  • Should You Punish Mistakes?

Connect

  • E-mail
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • YouTube
  • Cookies
  • Contact Me

Copyright © 2025 · Enterprise Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in