You won’t have fewer meetings. Abandon that fantasy now. Meetings are to a manager what lessons are to a teacher. Plenty of vital work goes on around both, and you can have too much of a good thing, but they are the arena in which the work comes to fruition.
Culture
Driven to extravagance by the forces of career selection: what aspects of your organisation are merely beautiful but useless plumage?
Owning the downside
You can only measure an organisation’s commitment to a strategy or principle by the pain it is willing endure and the price it is willing to pay for its choice…
Political influence for outsiders
In any confrontation, the outcome will be driven by the actions of the most powerful participant. But that outcome need not be in their interest. That is, a weaker opponent can steer the powerful into delivering the outcome they want.
Strategy 2
Have you ever watched a heist movie where the result depends on perfect success in every one of a large number of improbable steps? Do you ever think, if that guard had walked by ten seconds later, everything would have collapsed? In the real world, the guard always walks by ten seconds later than expected.
Unity
Unity is best served by disagreement. That is, people are most likely to commit to an action – even one they disagree with – if they have had the chance to make their point…
Truth doesn’t rise to the top
People are less likely to bring you bad news. They are more likely to agree with you. They are less likely to tell you that you are being an idiot. People are more reluctant to interrupt you with helpful observations. People may assume you have deep and wise reasons for your outwardly baffling decisions….
Don’t manage teachers with data
Don’t manage teachers with data. Manage your teachers with your theory. Manage your theory with the data…
Strategy 1
There are few words so hollowed out by overuse as strategy. It has become a mere claim for attention, which sadly obscures our understanding of it…
Crisis 6: the revolution may be revised
Past crises have changed some things while others have returned to normal. Don’t plan for an inevitable revolution next year…
Note to self 