Only Dead Fish

Scaling Agile Principles

I did some filming with my publisher recently to capture some of the key concepts from my new book on Agile Transformation. This short film is the first in a series but expresses the need to redesign organisational structures and working around ambidexterity, or the need to optimise for efficiency and business as usual whilst also re-inventing the business of the future. This requires not only a genuine commitment to continuous innovation (with the ruthless focus on creating space, time and resources) but an organisational operating system which enables a culture of scaled agility and responsiveness that supports different ways of operating whilst still being aligned and integrated. It's clearly not a quick fix, nor is it easy, nor is there a singular solution, but my book sets out a vision and a roadmap for how to achieve it. I'd love to know what you think of it. 

Neil Perkin - Agile Transformation

See One, Do One, Teach One

I'd not come across this before but thanks to Julian Cole for referencing one of his favourite methods of learning, often used in a medical context when trainee surgeons are learning new procedures. In See One, Do One, Teach One the student learns by observation first (for example watching a surgeon perform the procedure), then performs it themselves (under supervision in the medical case no doubt), and then teaches another trainee how to do it.

What I like about it is that it's a three dimensional way of learning. The first stage might use many different forms of observation. The second stage enables learning by doing and experience, and the opportunity for mentors to support. The third stage helps develop deeper understanding, akin to the Feynman Technique.

Really useful at an individual level but as I write about in the new book organisational advantage is increasingly wrapped up in how well businesses can learn fast at scale so it's interesting to think about how this might support more systemic learning.

Post of the Month - September 2019 - The Winner

Happy to say that Bogdana Butnar's excellent post on a metaphorical explanation for the Internet (for planners) was a clear winner in this month's vote, so well done to Bogdana. You join the hall of fame. My thanks to everyone that took part in nominating and voting.

Post of The Month - September 2019 - The Vote

Thank you for the nominations. So our vote this month is between:

A metaphorical explanation for the Internet (for planners) by Bogdana Butnar

Why We Believe Fake News by Tom Chatfield

These are a few of my favourite things by Andy Nairn

WeWork and Counterfeit Capitalism by Matt Stoller

Re-Thinking Consumer Insights with Lil’ Nas X, Billie Eilish, and Emily Dickinson from John Greene

Why We Should Aim for Zero by Gen Kobayashi

And you can vote below:

Choices About Time

How we spend our time and where we place our attention are two of the most important choices we make (and yet this often seems to be more arbitrary and reactive than it should really be). I loved this point made by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates about the importance of keeping time free for reflection, reading, and well, just thinking. It's so true - I'm terrible at it and I need to get better.