Reducing Drama Through Design Strategy
Design strategy connects our intent to actions and this post looks at how to develop one and use it to shape change in your organization.
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systems thinking
The Memory of Systems
Systems change is so difficult because is the link between the past, present and future is tight and often invisible. The term “system(s) change” is often used without a clear sense of what it means. What is the system that needs to be changed and how is that system defined? These are two important questions
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Innovation for the Real World
Why does most of what we read about innovation resemble very little of what our work life actually looks like? It is rare to find a profile of an innovation initiative that speaks to the everyday experiences of business, government, healthcare, or non-profit life. Instead, we read cases where there was leadership, time, focus, drive
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Entangled Knots and Complexity
The idea of entanglements is central to understanding complexity in systems and the knots that they generate The idea of entanglements and systems is at the heart of our understanding of complexity as it’s experienced in the world. Much of the literature on complexity speaks of entanglements as complications that arise to challenge our ideas
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Pasts, Presents, and Futures
Our understanding of situations are co-constructed and that means our future is, too. Shaping our future — at least one we want — requires not only thinking about our present situation, but our past, too. This means listening to the stories we tell ourselves and others — and paying attention to the ones we’ve missed
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System Entanglements and Change
‘New beginnings’ is a phrase that only works when both words are true and the systems around them support their realization. Change is easy to call for and promise, yet far more difficult to deliver. Among the greatest myths of behaviour change are the role individuals play in shaping their actions and the related outcomes.
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Practice Amid Disruption
What regular practice does is reduce the cost of failure and these costs are different in times of disruption. Innovation succeeds because of regular, committed practice. It’s about consistency of effort and persistence. But what happens when we’re constantly being disrupted? The Twenty Twenties will go down as among the greatest periods of disruption of
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Innovation Subscriptions
The concept of subscribing to something is an attractive way to build in practices to sustain innovative activities. Whether it is for a magazine, film series, blog, wine club, or season ticket package — subscriptions can provide us with a means to engage with things we otherwise might not have due to the sustained exposure
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The Mindset, Skillset, Toolset for Innovation
What does it take to innovate? We look at the basics and what they mean for individuals and organizations looking to do it. Innovation is often equated with its products, not its process. That’s one of the reasons it’s often mis-understood and poorly done at an institutional level because the emphasis is placed on the
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Inspiration and the Frankenstein Design
It’s possible to design a program or service that hits every note for some and becomes a monster for others. One of the principal outcomes of good design is inspiration. As I’ve written in a previous post, inspiration is the primary dividend for any design project and one of the few outcomes that are a
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