TL;DR Organisations have no brains. And even humans, with brains, can barely imagine unexpected risks. Making sure we are adequately prepared for potential risks requires a thorough exercise of risk assessment. Each project or program requires such an effort. However, we often neglect that. Not so obvious When I mention the very simple idea that … Continue reading Failing to plan = planning to fail
Zen & The Art of Work
One of the key takeaways of Paulo Coelho’s “The Alchemist” is that we often look for things everywhere but where they have always been … with us. I had a quite similar experience recently. Here's that story ... Hearing from Kourosh … Kourosh Dini contacted me a couple of weeks ago. Getting an email from … Continue reading Zen & The Art of Work
Thinking your thoughts through
TL;DR - We often don't think thoughts entirely through, which leads to erroneous conclusions. We are too often intellectually lazy, and accept the first possible explanation. Awareness and simple techniques can aid us in understanding and countering these errors. When we stop wondering Does any of the following sound familiar? You always find your keys … Continue reading Thinking your thoughts through
Moving from Squarespace to WordPress
TL;DR - I moved from Squarespace to WordPress because it makes blogging easier. You may have noticed that the blog looks fundamentally different from, well, yesterday, and that the url it now defaults to is http://www.exploringtheblackbox.org rather than the usual .net account. The reason is simple: I moved the blog from Squarespace to WordPress. The … Continue reading Moving from Squarespace to WordPress
Why are governments so slow in taking up eGov?
I recently was asked this question in an exchange on an article I wrote on good public governance, a couple of years ago. The article underlying this question is behind this link, and was written by Bill Eggers of Deloitte. Governments aren’t necessarily that slow in taking up eGov My first off-the-cuff reaction was “but … Continue reading Why are governments so slow in taking up eGov?
A better email tool
Whenever I write a letter, especially a draft letter, I usually write the text first. The reason is simple: texts tend to evolve, and may end up being about something completely different from what I set out to write about. Paper is not forgiving, in that a mistake requires me to cross out or apply … Continue reading A better email tool
Why I use a static and a dynamic phase in a risk management approach?
This article is a rewrite of an article I originally wrote about six years ago on a now discontinued blog aptly titled “complexity risk management”. I am reviewing a paper on risk management and felt it relevant to update this post as an additional comment to one of my review points. Whenever I speak about … Continue reading Why I use a static and a dynamic phase in a risk management approach?
Minimal requirements
If you have ever played a video game, you must have noticed the “minimal requirements” explicitly mentioned on either the package the game came in or the description on the game store site you purchased the game from. These minimal requirements are an indication of what your system needs to be capable of in order … Continue reading Minimal requirements
An updated look
You may have noticed that the blog has significantly changed. If you are reading this in a browser, you will notice there is a lot less clutter. I had been an absentee landlord on this blog, only occasionally publishing. The work was only an excuse for my neglect of what had become a set appointment … Continue reading An updated look
Your tools are not your problem. You are
Sometimes I need to make a point. And on occasion, I want to make that point quite clearly, because I see quite a few people making the same mistake I have made. This is one of those times. Now, there is nothing in this post that is likely to be new to you. Most of … Continue reading Your tools are not your problem. You are
Exploring The Black Box 