Comments on: A New Perspective on Innovation with Dave Snowden http://www.vpscin.org/?p=1742 Victorian Public Sector Continuous Improvement Network Wed, 09 Jun 2010 07:40:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: VPSCIN » Blog Archives » “A New Simplicity” a Masterclass with Dave Snowden http://www.vpscin.org/?p=1742&cpage=2#comment-166422 VPSCIN » Blog Archives » “A New Simplicity” a Masterclass with Dave Snowden Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:12:51 +0000 http://www.vpscin.org/?p=1742#comment-166422 [...] Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA), has organised a Masterclass with Dave Snowden who will provide an overview of complexity theory in human systems and introduce participants to [...] [...] Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA), has organised a Masterclass with Dave Snowden who will provide an overview of complexity theory in human systems and introduce participants to [...]

]]> By: VPSCIN » Blog Archives » Leadership & Innovation with Dave Snowden http://www.vpscin.org/?p=1742&cpage=2#comment-166327 VPSCIN » Blog Archives » Leadership & Innovation with Dave Snowden Sun, 12 Jul 2009 11:31:24 +0000 http://www.vpscin.org/?p=1742#comment-166327 [...] Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA), has organised a luncheon seminar with Dave Snowden who will speak on “Leadership & Innovation in Complex Times” on the 30th of this [...] [...] Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA), has organised a luncheon seminar with Dave Snowden who will speak on “Leadership & Innovation in Complex Times” on the 30th of this [...]

]]> By: VPSCIN » Blog Archives » Cog Edge Practitioner Workshop http://www.vpscin.org/?p=1742&cpage=2#comment-162841 VPSCIN » Blog Archives » Cog Edge Practitioner Workshop Mon, 18 May 2009 12:00:30 +0000 http://www.vpscin.org/?p=1742#comment-162841 [...] those Cognitive Edge accredited practitioners, Dave Snowden will be on Melbourne on July 31 and a day long workshop will be held which will focus on sharing [...] [...] those Cognitive Edge accredited practitioners, Dave Snowden will be on Melbourne on July 31 and a day long workshop will be held which will focus on sharing [...]

]]> By: VPSCIN » Blog Archives » Cognitive Edge Accreditations across the VPS http://www.vpscin.org/?p=1742&cpage=2#comment-144004 VPSCIN » Blog Archives » Cognitive Edge Accreditations across the VPS Fri, 07 Nov 2008 09:49:28 +0000 http://www.vpscin.org/?p=1742#comment-144004 [...] During cup week 20 x VPS staff from DSE, DTF, DPI, VicPol, DOT, SSA, DOJ and DPCD spent three days becoming accredited practitioners in the Cognitive Edge methods. 300 CIN members got a some insight into these methods and how they are applied when Dave Snowden at our Oct 22 luncheon. [...] [...] During cup week 20 x VPS staff from DSE, DTF, DPI, VicPol, DOT, SSA, DOJ and DPCD spent three days becoming accredited practitioners in the Cognitive Edge methods. 300 CIN members got a some insight into these methods and how they are applied when Dave Snowden at our Oct 22 luncheon. [...]

]]> By: VPSCIN » Blog Archives » Mental Floss (104) http://www.vpscin.org/?p=1742&cpage=2#comment-142756 VPSCIN » Blog Archives » Mental Floss (104) Thu, 30 Oct 2008 10:44:03 +0000 http://www.vpscin.org/?p=1742#comment-142756 [...] A New Perspective on Innovation with Dave Snowden [...] [...] A New Perspective on Innovation with Dave Snowden [...]

]]> By: The importance of diversity to improving learning and teaching « The Weblog of (a) David Jones http://www.vpscin.org/?p=1742&cpage=2#comment-142466 The importance of diversity to improving learning and teaching « The Weblog of (a) David Jones Wed, 29 Oct 2008 01:27:30 +0000 http://www.vpscin.org/?p=1742#comment-142466 [...] though it is disappointing to have missed out on the end of the talk due to flat batteries. This blog post which gives one summary on Dave’s talk offers some related [...] [...] though it is disappointing to have missed out on the end of the talk due to flat batteries. This blog post which gives one summary on Dave’s talk offers some related [...]

]]> By: Sandy De Mel http://www.vpscin.org/?p=1742&cpage=2#comment-142127 Sandy De Mel Mon, 27 Oct 2008 03:55:45 +0000 http://www.vpscin.org/?p=1742#comment-142127 Dave's presentation was interesting and informative. I enjoyed the stories and found it quite entertaining. Dave’s presentation was interesting and informative. I enjoyed the stories and found it quite entertaining.

]]> By: Laurel Sutton http://www.vpscin.org/?p=1742&cpage=2#comment-142101 Laurel Sutton Mon, 27 Oct 2008 01:27:13 +0000 http://www.vpscin.org/?p=1742#comment-142101 Having spent time over a three day period with Dave Snowden, my head is skipping about with quite a lot of thinking. Several things stand out for me from the time. One is that of distributed cognition and how this idea is a real challenge to hierachically driven organisations such as the one I am in now or in my previous life working in the health field. The risk to do it differently is great for these organisations. But how important it is to do it differently, encouraging diverse thinking and decision making. Secondly how important it is to encourage differences and diversity in teams in order to foster innovation. Often we see leaders in organisations surrounding themselves with like minded people which means that blind spots are never identified and contended so limiting innovation and possibilities. I could go on further with linkages and thoughts, but conscious of the notion of chunked information enough is enough. Thankyou Dave for a stimulating and thought provoking (and in some ways reassuring)three days. Having spent time over a three day period with Dave Snowden, my head is skipping about with quite a lot of thinking. Several things stand out for me from the time. One is that of distributed cognition and how this idea is a real challenge to hierachically driven organisations such as the one I am in now or in my previous life working in the health field. The risk to do it differently is great for these organisations. But how important it is to do it differently, encouraging diverse thinking and decision making. Secondly how important it is to encourage differences and diversity in teams in order to foster innovation. Often we see leaders in organisations surrounding themselves with like minded people which means that blind spots are never identified and contended so limiting innovation and possibilities.

I could go on further with linkages and thoughts, but conscious of the notion of chunked information enough is enough.

Thankyou Dave for a stimulating and thought provoking (and in some ways reassuring)three days.

]]> By: Coordinator http://www.vpscin.org/?p=1742&cpage=1#comment-142021 Coordinator Sun, 26 Oct 2008 14:12:18 +0000 http://www.vpscin.org/?p=1742#comment-142021 I often wonder why Govt spends so of the tax payers dollars on external consultants that rarely produce the goods. (Anecdotally, one of the reasons you hear around the traps is that if the project goes belly-up we can them blame the consultants and in doing so, somehow deflect blame from ourselves - yeah right! I've often wondered how much truth there is in this.) Over my brief journey I've had the great displeasure to see many external consultancies brought in for 10's and 100's of thousand of dollars who have ultimately left with pockets lined and the govt no better off (in fact often worse off.) Some of the classic ones are culture surveys/projects and staff satisfaction surveys which tend to have a negative impact. 96 out of 100 VPS staff are cynical about these (I've pulled that figure out of my head, but my red hat says its not far off the mark) - this in itself, along with the poor return rates should be enough to tell us they are not working as they should. (One of my very own "witticisms" of which I've always been proud is, <em>"Mineral Matter, Vegetable Matter, People Matter."</em> ...... Sorry about that.) The methods and thinking espoused by Dave virtually says that the knowledge we need to solve our big issues and design a way forward resides within the VPS, our stakeholders and the community we serve, not with some consultant bearing a magical <em>off the shelf</em> formula that seemed to work somewhere else. Don't get me wrong, not all are like this, the CIN comes into regular contact with many brilliant people who create value. The most valuable consultants are those who help us to help ourselves in specific areas of deficiency, build that internal capability and then move on. The image around <em>consultancy in general</em> however that pops into my mind is that of a floundering blue whale that is slowly having chunks removed by a circling school of sharks. Govt is still viewed by many as the fatted calf and this "soft touch" image should be dispelled by senior decision makers leveling greater responsibility and trust to staff who usually know a way forward. Using the distributed cognition across the VPS rather than ignoring it, is surely the way forward as we head into some uncharted and challenging times. I often wonder why Govt spends so of the tax payers dollars on external consultants that rarely produce the goods. (Anecdotally, one of the reasons you hear around the traps is that if the project goes belly-up we can them blame the consultants and in doing so, somehow deflect blame from ourselves – yeah right! I’ve often wondered how much truth there is in this.)

Over my brief journey I’ve had the great displeasure to see many external consultancies brought in for 10’s and 100’s of thousand of dollars who have ultimately left with pockets lined and the govt no better off (in fact often worse off.)

Some of the classic ones are culture surveys/projects and staff satisfaction surveys which tend to have a negative impact. 96 out of 100 VPS staff are cynical about these (I’ve pulled that figure out of my head, but my red hat says its not far off the mark) – this in itself, along with the poor return rates should be enough to tell us they are not working as they should. (One of my very own “witticisms” of which I’ve always been proud is, “Mineral Matter, Vegetable Matter, People Matter.” …… Sorry about that.)

The methods and thinking espoused by Dave virtually says that the knowledge we need to solve our big issues and design a way forward resides within the VPS, our stakeholders and the community we serve, not with some consultant bearing a magical off the shelf formula that seemed to work somewhere else.

Don’t get me wrong, not all are like this, the CIN comes into regular contact with many brilliant people who create value. The most valuable consultants are those who help us to help ourselves in specific areas of deficiency, build that internal capability and then move on. The image around consultancy in general however that pops into my mind is that of a floundering blue whale that is slowly having chunks removed by a circling school of sharks. Govt is still viewed by many as the fatted calf and this “soft touch” image should be dispelled by senior decision makers leveling greater responsibility and trust to staff who usually know a way forward.

Using the distributed cognition across the VPS rather than ignoring it, is surely the way forward as we head into some uncharted and challenging times.

]]> By: Paris Room http://www.vpscin.org/?p=1742&cpage=1#comment-142020 Paris Room Sun, 26 Oct 2008 13:50:18 +0000 http://www.vpscin.org/?p=1742#comment-142020 An idea provoking session that was extremely engaging and a timely cause for self-reflection on government's over-reliance on consultants. Very enjoyable. An idea provoking session that was extremely engaging and a timely cause for self-reflection on government’s over-reliance on consultants. Very enjoyable.

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