Strategic thinking

Problem solving relies on what came before and what will come after

Sometimes it is not just what you do but the order in which you do it that matters. You absolutely must develop an ability to see several layers of consequences ahead of the solution as well as several layers of cause and effect behind the problem and then juggle them at once in the way … Read more

Delivering benefits is no longer about getting a system signed off

(Who’s minding the shop?) This blog is an attempt to stimulate discussion and understanding of the balance of responsibility for delivering business benefits from IT investment. It is now fairly widely recognised that this is not as simple as choosing a system, getting it working and reaping the benefits, but as yet we can call … Read more

Lernaean Hydra, your time is up.

Simple, but powerful tools to truly build a relationship with the customer, some obvious gaping opportunities to cut costs and some basic principals of architecture that even the bin man could understand in one lesson and yet are ignored by 99 percent of technical architects. If you are serious about competing in business, read this. … Read more

How much damage can negative BIAS do to performance and quality of life?

Whether a manager, a sports person, an investor, or a dustman It is vital to understand our personal bias and manage it . Every decision we make requires some level of objectivity to stand a good chance of serving us well. “You’re faced with around 11 million pieces of information at any given moment, according … Read more

Machine learning warts and all

I wont be long-winded about this, I’ll discuss it via email with anyone who is interested, but I’ll break with my usual mode and come straight to the point. A great many people who know little at all of machine learning  and even less about people and many more who are simply  oblivious to the … Read more

Is there a maturity model for corporate information and is it achievable?

I was recently asked to contribute to a maturity model for big data. Anyone who knows me will have guessed that I declined this, but it did get me thinking about the lack of a big picture understanding of the corporate information landscape and a framework to leverage. Given that so many of us operate … Read more

The evils of groupthink and the risk to all Social media users

AKA “ Say hello to someone” Power to think The most spectacularly creative people in many fields are often introverted, according to studies by the psychologists Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Gregory Feist. They’re extroverted enough to exchange and advance ideas, but see themselves as independent and individualistic. They’re not joiners by nature.” NYtimes SUSAN CAIN JAN. … Read more