Chris Rodgers Consulting Ltd


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Provocations

This section includes links to a number of short 'thought pieces', some of which have been published and others not. They are intended to provide a challenge to conventional thinking and to provoke new perspectives.

We take comfort in de Bono’s definition of provocation:

“With a provocation, there may not be a reason for saying something until after it has been said.”

De Bono uses the term in relation to lateral thinking, which adopts specific principles and techniques to enable people to break out of established patterns of thinking. This purpose fits well with the thought pieces that follow. These too are intended to shift some of the established patterns of management thinking, which both enable and constrain progress in the areas of leadership, change and organisational dynamics.

ISSUES

A number of key issues that managers typically face, as they lead their organisations through the challenges of change and strive to achieve peak performance.

BOOKSHOP

An on-line bookshop, operated in association with Amazon.co.uk and featuring titles on leadership,

“QUOTE … UNQUOTE”

A selection of broadly relevant (!) quotations, which we have found interesting, stimulating or simply amusing.

‘Food for Thought’ Menu …

The articles that follow are offered as stepping stones to new ideas and new ways of working, rather than being presented as blueprints for action.

‘Food for Thought’ Menu

1	From Lateral Moves to Lateral Thinking Thoughts on the organisational equivalent of moving goalkeepers to centre forward, on the basis that they haven't scored any goals!
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2	Talk and Action - Team Mates Not Rivals! Organisations need to use both action and talk, if they are to achieve peak performance - "Just Do It!" is not enough on its own.
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3	Is it WISE to be SMART? Is management's preoccupation with "SMART targets" sensible in a complex and rapidly changing environment?
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4	A Case of the Emperor's New Clothes? Why disembodied "culture change programmes" are nonsense.
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5	Development à la Carte Moving beyond training as a development tool.
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6	De Bono and Self-Organisation Parallels between de Bono's “Mechanism of Mind” and the application of complexity-based thinking to organisations.
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7	Computer-Based Training and Development Is the latest rush to adopt computer-based training soundly based? What are the benefits? And are there potential drawbacks?
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8	Reframing Communication Leadership communication is often thought of in terms of message passing - getting the 'right facts' to the 'right people'. Is this good enough? Should it be thought of instead in terms of building relationships and making sense between people?
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9	The Change Context Change does not exist in a vacuum. It occurs within (and impacts upon) a change context, formed from the perceptions, interpretations and evaluations that organisational members make of their personal circumstances, organisational factors and external environment. Too often, managers ignore the change context when they attempt to import 'best practices' from elsewhere into their organisations. They also often make the mistake of ignoring the personal context within which change takes place for individuals.
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10	Reflecting on the Inner Game What, provocatively, might the principles of Gallwey's "Inner Game" approach to coaching have to say about broader aspects of organisational performance and capability?
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