Dear Systems Thinker,I have seen too many management gurus in my life. Most have been academics or speech writers. Rarely do you find a guru that has ever done anything. This makes improvement of any organization messy. The devil is in the details and unless you have actually attempted improvement (improvement mind you and not observation or theory) can you actually say you are a guru (my definition).
Agree or disagree, why do I even bring it up?
John Seddon was in New York recently to present to about a 1000 people about the Vanguard Method and how it transformed government in the UK. The result won a management innovation award. He had the opportunity to listen to Dan Pink (and others) and also calibrate the Vanguard Method against other gurus method. Dan Pink is a great speaker, but he is not a management guru. His "method" was to allow one day a month for employees to do innovation. Love ya brother Dan, but the Vanguard Method allows you to innovate every day.
John left knowing that after all the presentations what the Vanguard Method can do actually has substance and is far ahead of the management fads embraced in the USA. Why? We have a method for teaching organizations how to learn, improvement is only blocked by the assumptions about the design and management of work that become barriers. Improvement is achieved by unpacking these management assumptions. This, my friends, is a thinking problem and only intervention can get you to relearn.
I have been asked by several people about putting on a seminar on the Vanguard Method. Here is what I propose, if three (3) companies or government entities have an interest in learning more I will bring them to Orlando in October for 3 or 4 days (dates to be determined) to get you started. My suggestion would be a mix of 4-6 management and front-line people attending. This mix is important as an intervention requires knowledge of your current system and rarely is that held by management. This approach will allow you to have relevant discussions with people in your company talking about the concepts and principles and to begin to apply the Vanguard Method. If your company or government entity is interested please contact me at tripp@newsystemsthinking.com.
