Think Category

Curiousness #2 – an example of the need for more..

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The previous post (the one sent on George Smiley and Seth), values curiousness.

In many health care arenas, there is a love of competitions and prizes.  These tend to be for innovation, not adoption and adaption.

My critique of prizes?  They pander to the default health care culture of pursuing the discovery of creative new ideas and then using conferences/papers to show your brilliance.

In contrast, the alternative approach focuses with a deep interest into what you can use from others’ research and practice.

In our 4C model (at end of this link) we sum that for many organisations and individuals, creativity and communication is more the norm, not curiousness to seek out things to copy.

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Core to Humanity

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We tend to take the easy route.

Humans are like that.

It is something innate in us.

Trying to take the path of less resistance.

Like water when it leaks.

When might you need to pause, think and try to take a harder road?

Starting a business?

Within a friendship?

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Is caring enough?

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Caring about something is not a sufficient guarantee of doing a good job.

It seems like it might be.

Especially in noble purpose enterprises.

But competence and taking time and space not to impose your own views on your colleagues does too.

Possibly more?

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Managing conflict

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Conflict is simply defined as any difference of perspective in terms of opinion and want.

The key challenge in many teams and organisations is not avoiding but harnessing this difference to ensure ideas are fully tested and the best outcomes are achieved.

As part of our advanced team training we introduce colleagues to the work of John Heron and Thomas (and) Kilman to provide some practice tools and ideas. One method we return to time and time again is Dilemma Resolution.

They key? How get into the 2nd person point of view (ie see things through the other persons eyes) as well as the 3rd person perspective too .

Do contact us if you want information on any of these tools.

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The original festivals

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Cycling though central Cambridge on the way to the station – just having received 3 mailings advertising summer music festivals – I thought…

Just how many fine old churches there were directly on about 100 metres of my route – St Johns, Trinity, St Michaels, Great St Marys, Kings…

And how majestic they would have looked, especially when surrounded by flimsy, low level housing and a variety of street entertainment and commerce.

A bit like the sight of the festival stages in a sea of tents and fast food stalls, shops and bars.

Maybe the Churches were the Renaissance festival – buildings full of noise and light, where people turned up from their hovels and mansions for moments of awe and wonder…

Like stages at Glastonbury and Latitude?

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Assumptions about HR

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There are a couple of assumptions that underpin a lot of thinking about the future role of HR (which is a topic we have been covering in scenario planning, simulation and action planning).

One (largely from within HR) is that it is all about becoming better strategic business partners.  The other, mostly from outside, is that it is about getting basic transactional services offshored and online to increase efficiencies in supporting individual members of staff and line managers.  So those who own or comment on companies should be interested in this recent FT piece.

 FT HR article

Both these views can be seen as causes AND responses to the ‘I hate hr’ movement.

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Tulips from Amsterdam?

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A scene from…

Tulips

…The Netherlands?

Nah,

Near

London Theatre Land

(though they’re almost certainly Dutch bulbs!)

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More playful communication…

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…from a meeting room we worked in.

energy saving poster

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Artful headliners

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Sun headline

 

Playful copy editors get everywhere…now even at the FT.

Follows a recent favourite from the Sun during some warm weather – Elton John looking at photo of David Furnish holding their baby with the headline of “Don’t let my son go brown on me”.

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Surprisingly good coffee

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Further to a recent post on the (slow) speed of innovation transfer in the hot drinks market, we now find that in the hunt for a great Flat White coffee:

1) lots of places serve a white Americano instead (not the double shot of espresso, in a small cup, topped with velvety milk)

2) Starbucks (perhaps against expectations?) do a good job at it.

Being the biggest doesn’t mean you can’t be the best at ‘stealing with pride’.flat white2

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