Tag: complexity
Monday, 6 February 2012
Organization complexity is a waste farm
Posted by Simon Baker
When people are pooled in specialized silos more process is required to get things done. Responsibility gets diffused and transaction and coordination costs go up because there are more handovers and sign-offs as work is passed around; more meetings are needed to keep people involved and informed, and it's more difficult to gather people together; it's more time consuming to chase people for responses. Work is stop-start. There's little flow and lots of waste.
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Monday, 21 November 2011
Crack cocaine problem-solving and complexity
Posted by Simon Baker
Once something is large enough and puzzling enough to be designated a problem, we have a tendency to rush in, exaggerate its complexity and solve it with an overcomplicated system. The trouble is, complicated systems produce complicated responses to problems. They don't produce solutions. When the system doesn't do what we designed it to do, which it will, we push on it to make it work. But that doesn't work so we push it harder and harder and grow more anxious. Then we come crashing down. Not to worry. It's really not long before we're back with the urge to do it all over again. And again. And again.
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Thursday, 1 April 2010
Dealing with organizational complexity goes in the 'too hard' box
Posted by Simon Baker
Our purpose is to improve the quality of service for customers. Quite simply, our goal is to delight customers. But Goldratt said: The goal of every company is to make money. Making money is mandatory but fixation on profit and obsession with costs is a sure way to become detached from customers. Our goal is not do delight shareholders. Delighted customers become loyal customers and loyal customers provide repeat business. They even do marketing for us. They tell their friends and family who then give us their business and they’re delighted so they tell their friends and family.
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Monday, 7 December 2009
Being cost effective
Posted by Simon Baker
Forget about economies of scale. Reduce complexity. Find flow.
Friday, 29 December 2006
Bit by bit or all at once?
Posted by Simon Baker
From a very early age, we are taught to break apart problems. When we try to ‘see the big picture’, we try to reassemble the pieces in our minds, but this like trying to reassemble the fragments of a broken mirror to see a true reflection. After a while we give up trying to see the whole altogether.
