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Demand Creation Network

The turbulent economic environment in the UK calls for “out-of-the-box” thinking linked to action that “engages.” The uncertainty and unpredictability of future events suggests that such action is now urgent.

The good news is that flexibility is now the mantra and organisation leaders have tended to hoard staff on renegotiated terms rather than seek immediate cost cutting lay-offs.

However, with reductions in overall demand for products and services predicted in many sectors (see comment below), a “reorientation” to identify and meet customer needs and wants in the value chain is this week’s priority.

But how is this achieved? Traditional management thinks “Reorganise!” with the inevitable disruption and delays that associated with identifying and filling new job positions: all accompanied by a lowering of morale over a critical, often prolonged period.

An alternative approach is offered by pedigree marketing and technology specialists Hunter Hastings and Jeff Saperstein in their new book “Bust the Silos – opening your organization for growth.” They are a new breed of specialists who are embracing the value network approach to tackle complex business and organisational challenges.

To tackle the demand deficit, their approach is simple. Wear a “value network” hat and conceive a “Demand Creation Network,” with new roles that are open to all who feel they can contribute. No reorganisation; just a reorientation.

Figure 1-1 in the book illustrates how they replace structure with a network in order to build growth capability. The diagram following captures the essence of the role plays and deliverables shown in the Figure whilst embodying the authentic value network approach that Hunter and Jeff depart from slightly in their representation, which devotees will be quick to spot.


For the detail omitted and further explanation refer to the attachment here ..

Demand Creation Network.pdf


Readers are also advised to refer to the six podcasts made of Verna Allee, the originator and prime mover in the value network movement, now supported by a dynamic global community of practitioners. These podcasts provide additional nuances to the value network approach. Refer here …http://valuenetworks.com/public/blog/207591


A useful step in implementing a Demand Creation Network is to imagine creating a new team or project that straddles existing functions, disciplines, departments. Then adopt a cultivation and facilitation style to nurture the new informal way of collaborating until formal processes are developed when time allows, using breakthrough methods as at Procession.


Simultaneously, challenge those contributing to the corporate governance and audit roles to adapt accordingly. (See for example the paper on continuous auditing here.)


You are at http://tinyurl.com/34tcdn8

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Innovation

 

Concept sketch for showing the relative significance of Formal and Informal contributions during the "Maturity Cycle" of an enterprise.

 

 

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Big Society Programme - The MakeItZone

The Big Society Programme announced by the UK Government yesterday is a bold move to empower citizens and the first strand of a comprehensive Programme which will deliver reform, renewal, fairness and change Britain needs.

This is to be welcomed and a calming move to steady nerves as we battle through the financial and economic storm, almost literally on the edge of chaos.

But where are the economists? Big Society is badly in need of an underpinning macro-economic model that configures a credible way forward, and we are missing that.

The report Prosperity without Growth, published by the Government’s independent watchdog on sustainable development, the
Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) provides hope. It outlines the merits of questioning the current underlying vision of a prosperity built on continual growth. Its clear message is that we can deduce from the financial crisis of 2008 that the current model of economic success is fundamentally flawed.

It emphasises that for advanced economies of the Western world, prosperity without growth is no longer a utopian dream. It is a financial and ecological necessity.

Usefully, evidence of intentional communities that pursue sources of identity, creativity and meaning that lie outside the realm of the market already exist. They provide a valuable learning ground and provide clues about the potential for more mainstream social change leading to happier lives and the achievement of sustainable growth.

The MakeItZone provides an opportunity for such an intentional community to develop and provides an example of a Big Society Project. Ian Greenwood, through his vision and relentless pursuit of ways and means, has instigated on the ground an environment to help businesses, youth and apprentices to "make-it" both in life, in craft and in business. Additionally, there will be full scale demonstrators of how existing buildings can be super-insulated and how solar energy can be gathered and stored even in winter in "low-tech" low-cost ways for maximum efficiency.

These activities contribute to a wider viable macro-economic model in which sustainable growth can be achieved.

Additionally, lessons can be learned from an earlier pioneer in sustainable development who are willing to offer encouragement and advice, the
Pines Calyx conference centre and events venue based in Kent, which acts as the centre point of an emergent Centre for Sustainable Living and a hub for sustainable enterprise in the county.

One early task will be to visualise the emerging business and community ecosystem so that all participants can decide best what and how to contribute within their capabilities and negotiate their commitment for the benefit of the whole.

To that end, work is well under way to conceive and co-create a simplified model, omitting stocks, that both pinpoints needed action and workflows on the ground and incorporates components of macroeconomic significance. (The first economic model is shown here, a business ecosystem here, and a business model here).

For your copy of progress so far with The MakeItZone see the short piece
"MakeIt: a new zone to make it in life, craft and in business," in the document following.


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Playing our part: co-creating "Weal(th)"

Ideas for moving from top-down Government control to encouragement of more participative government at a local level are in the air. For example, the UK Conservative Party Manifesto published yesterday makes this a core theme; getting stuck in as a volunteer and building a nation of people who look out for others and not assuming that politicians have all the answers.


One way of looking at this is to suggest that "Community" and "Business led enterprise or public service" become more engaging by making interactions more transparent and useful.

It can help reduce the scepticism held for political rhetoric if a way is found to:
  • pin-point were change is needed
  • empower those involved to sustain their efforts, particularly if volunteered without tangible reward
  • acknowledge the value of both tangible and intangible factors
  • assess and negotiate contributions based on their value as perceived by stakeholders
Usefully, the Conservative Party is aware at some levels of the value network approach which provides a simple way to:
  • view the reality of how organisations work amid the general messiness, by focussing on essentials
  • analyse and, possibly, optimise, effort
  • engage and empower for change
  • help us all to value each other
Hopefully, other political parties will follow the Conservative's good example in accumulating state-of-the-art wisdom that is appropriate for leading and managing in the 21st century.

So, how can a seamless view of community and non-comunity activity be viewed? Business refer to "business models" which value networks can very successfully underpin; incorporating key factors.
In a similar way, we can visualise community effort as a "community model" and conceive building on the aspirations and capabilities of two separate communities coming together. There is a huge similarity in the components selected, but key differences are honoured.
Success with value networks in enabling us all to "play our part" does require a shift in mindset - no doubt about that. But only slight additional skill is needed to bring it into play. If allowed, we can all get started with any local concern. For example, the magical Breakthrough Blueprint paves the way.
Is it time to act now? If you believe that the UK's position is particularly precarious for the forseable future, with 20% reduction in some Government Budgets being mooted to retain our national credit rating, perhaps it is!
More when the UK General Election has taken place.
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LockSpur, the national hairdressing franchise, No 1 in the UK by turnover, boosted performance by a factor of three in results announced by CEO Archie Strator today.
In 2006, they introduced Lean Management methods. Through a series of closely controlled incremental breakthroughs, throughput from booking to payment along the pareto hair processing options was optimised.
In early 2008, a member of the value network movement who wishes to remain anonymous drew Strator's attention to the unmanaged "chat" that flowed inexorably between the hair stylists and their customers. Through a co-ordinated programme of breakthrough sessions in each outlet, and a reconfiguring at group level of the business boundary, the co-created ideas and insights arising from the "chat" are now cultivated in an incubator offshoot.
By applying Service Design principles and building on the deepening business relationships between LockSpur and its customers, the early fruits of a thriving business ecosystem are now reaching the marketplace.
Says Strator, "the value network team helped me identify the previously unappreciated capabilities and knowledge of my staff and customers, adding to the financial results and boosting both social cohesion and capital and reducing our environmental footprint."
He added, "this business model is one that can be universally applied and by releasing this information, we also wish to play our part in spreading the good news in these straightend times."

1st April 2010
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BEIN(2)

Pilot to transform supply chains from efficient supply

to innovation pipeline


BEIN(2) (Be In Business Ecosystem INnovation!)


It is conventional to make supply chains more efficient by arranging for tiered layers of reporting and accountability that feed up to the ultimate client. Accompanying this are management principles that are well documented and practised in the discipline of lean management. Both these approaches are underpinned by traditional management thinking which prioritises "command and control," although authentic lean management aspires to support innovation throughout all types of business activity. See, for example...........

Newer thinking which specifically incorporates "co-ordination and cultivation" is focussed on enabling the flow of energy, matter and information in human collaboration to surface more effectively to boost co-creativity and consequential innovation.

A key reason why many initiatives that involve change and innovation fail is that the mind sets that traditional education and training have instilled for control are inappropriate in cultivating the interrelationships, both formal and informal, for pinpointing areas for change, growth and success.

The value network perspective was one of the first to be used to illustrate, simply, a holistic view of how organisations can configure themselves to support and benefit from co-creation within and across traditional boundaries.. Value network analysis is the associated underpinning method.

The manufacturing and systems integration sectors provide evidence of how Business Ecosystems and Business Models have been transformed to meet 21st century challenges using value networks and analysis (VNA).

There is, therefore, the possibility to identify a pilot project / mini fast track programme in parallel with current supply chain enhancement initiatives for a proof of concept collaboration. This will introduce and test the value network perspective with the prospect of replicating dramatic breakthroughs in productivity and overall performance.

There is also good evidence to suggest that the adoption of the established term "Business Ecosystem" is now appropriate. Further, action to connect with the relatively new discipline of Service Design is being pursued, with its emphasis on adopting different attitudes, techniques and skills in orchestrating systems, processes and resources to produce the desired results.

Accordingly, as a point of reference, the Business Ecosystem Innovation term resonates well with actions that transform entrenched "Taylor like " behaviours to a "collaborative processes of researching, envisaging and then orchestrating experience that happens over time and multiple touchpoints," where the latter mouthful is taken from Service Design literature!

BEIN(2) is born.

This note will be shared with selected potential participants with a view to involvement as the situations, opportunities and ideal scope unfold.

David Meggitt

meggitt bird
19th March 2010

You are at http://tinyurl.com/yeu29xj

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First Economic Model

Adam Smith (1723-1790) and his concept of “the invisible hand” has been a useful historical reference point in judging how far regulation of affairs should be extended after the banking crisis. For example, see here.

Smith was one of the developers of classical economics, itself probably the first modern school of economic thought. But who influenced Adam Smith, apart from such notables as:-

> Frances Hutcheson (1694- 1746) his professor at Glasgow University
> David Hume (1711-1776)
> Bernard de Mandeville (1670-1733)?

His early career was spent in France with the French Society of Physiocrats. One of their number, Francois Quesnay (1694-1774), outlined in 1759 his "Tableau Economique," the first known economic model. This lay the foundation of the Physiocrats' economic theories and, together with writing and money, they were regarded by Smith as being the three great inventions which had contributed to the stability of political societies.

More recent analyses of the model help in interpreting the "Tableau" and enable the first value exchange system view of an economic model to be constructed as follows (for the value network space).

10888571880?profile=original


The diagram shows the three "classes," as role plays as follows:-

> The Proprietary class - as Landowner (also known as Landlord)
> The Productive class - as Farmer and Farmhand
> The Sterile class - as Artisan and Merchant

Two new role plays are introduced to represent "Markets" as a place for the exchange of goods:-

> Manufacturers marketeers and
> Agricultures marketeers

The exchanges of value are shown as transactions with tangible deliverables designated "m" or "g", such that "300 g," for example, means 300 units of goods or services (with further description added as needed) and "300 m" means 300 units of money.

You can also add the sequence of transaction. For example, I have shown the first four (1) to (4), following the assumption made in the model that the Proprietary class spent all they received from renting their land on agricultural and manufactured products, thus keeping the economy working through their "contribution."

Omitted from the value exchanges are the actual stocks of goods and money residing within each group playing the roles. These would be represented, today, in the data tables associated with the work flow implementation of the Value Exchange System (VES).

What the "Tableau" omits is all the informal flow that enables societies to function! What we see here is only the mechanical system at work which could, possibly, have influenced Adam Smith to note that the subdivision of labour induced a certain "stupidity of mind," and spurred him to write the "Theory of Moral Sentiments" before his epic "Wealth of Nations!"

A description of the model can be seen on Wikipedia. I have removed the $ sign!

Having been through this exercise, it is interesting to surmise how both Quesnay and subsequent economists would have benefited from a knowledge of VES in visualising how the economy really worked. Certainly, with its simple handling of system dynamics and centrality of the human element, we may have reached somewhat sooner (by 200 years perhaps) current trends to radically remake economics. The paradigm shift embodied in "Complexity Economics" has paved the way for economists to approach in their own way "Edge-of-Chaos" conditions we now face.

You are at http://tinyurl.com/ybtgudm

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Principles or rules: an ethical choice?

"Does Increased regulation reduce corporate responsibility?"

This was the title for the annual open debate held as a regular event by the UK Institute of Business Ethics sponsored this year by Simmons & Simmons.

The event was held under the Chatham House Rule so these observations are the result of a distillation of what was debated there and my own prior knowledge. This means, though, that no attributions or acknowledgments of insights contributed by others can be made.

An understandable reaction by most businesses is that regulation invariably increases the complexity of doing business and could lead to obfuscation if regulations are too detailed. They can detract from seeing the bigger picture and also be a distraction to understanding the business itself.

Invariably, extra management time and costs are incurred and the threat of criminal proceedings is frightening.

There are also issues of accessibility, clarity and coherence, with a veritable succession of tides and unceasing waves of EU Directives, laws, departmental guidelines, regulations, standards et al that have to be navigated with guidance from Court rulings and opinions.

So why is regulation needed at all? Perhaps it all comes down to "performance," both individually and collectively as is manifest in our behaviour. And what constitutes appropriate regulation depends upon the nature of the subject matter, or context, and the form of the regulatory mechanisms and material.

For example, for health and safety issues, particularly in construction where the safety record has improved considerably, simple rules for particular situations become a statement of sensible good practice for remaining safe and healthy. However, in more fuzzy areas such as economic regulation, financial services and data protection, there is a real danger that a list of rules alone will simply be shuffled down to operational levels who simply "tick boxes" without consideration of reasons why, and the underlying principles, if any.

Taking a leaf or two from the writings of Adam Smith we are reminded of the effect of natural human instincts: that the pursuit of self interest by an individual, maximising revenue for himself in a free market, tends to maximise the total revenue of society as a whole. But in his time, the "invisible hand" as it were, was underpinned by a good dose of moral sentiment, cultivated by the strong Christian tradition. So we can see from the left hand side of the figure following that a positive impact on society can be achieved. Additionally, Adam Smith also pointed out that the division of labour, despite achieving productivity gains, induced a certain stupidity of mind, the early equivalent, perhaps of a tick box mentality!

However, we also know that selfish cattle owners overused their rights to free grazing on common land and, with no regard for their co-farmers, ruined the nutritional value of the land leading to the "tragedy of the commons." So greed had to be tempered by regulation to control access. So we can see from the right hand side of the figure that we can still aim for a positive impact on society despite human greed.

10888572272?profile=original


However, regulation always seems to be behind the curve of personal aspiration and performance improvement. What holistic perspectives enable us to control bad behaviour and cultivate good behaviour and get to grips with systemic failures and successes?

Two possibilities come to mind for further dialogue.

Winston Churchill once said, "The empires of the future are empires of the mind." Also, leaders and managers are always seeking ways to create more adaptive and responsive organisations and maximise knowledge value. So firstly, consider the ways in which different aspects of knowing have been represented and synthesise them to understand better the evolution of knowledge itself.

Drawing on the work of past colleague Verna Allee in her book "The Knowledge Evolution - Expanding Organizational Intelligence," I depict in the following diagram two dimensions, learning and performance, of her knowledge archetype, arrived at by analysing sixteen theoretical constructs for representing and understanding different aspects of knowing.

The right hand side depicts different aspects of performance. On the left, are corresponding aspects of learning. These are set in the traditional triangle of controls for project performance, (schedule, quality and time) with an additional vertical dimension that enables us to pin point different tasks and operations.

Suffice to observe at this point that a case can be made for applying principles to aspects in the blue zone and leaving rules firmly for the orange zone.

10888572059?profile=original


Secondly, utilise simple but effective approaches for visualising the effect of behaviour in organisations systemically. For example, the diagram following uses a powerful approach for combining the formal work flow with the informal conversations that impact board performance. The recent USB shareholder report (a comment on that to an ACCA related meeting is here) highlighted that conversations about the meaning of comprehensive risk management reports did not take place. Could this be the result of NED effectiveness being blunted by collegiality or group think? Would a more diverse representation on the board be appropriate or is it simply a lack of any one individual not being prepared to be "the difficult one?"

10888572080?profile=original


Ultimately, it seems that there is no such thing as a corporate ethic, but simply personal matters of conscience, recognising that human nature is fallible.

So, a holistic view of the place of ethics in making choices is particularly appropriate. Usefully, the knowledge archetype introduced above provides an excellent starting point for such a conversation. A more comprehensive snapshot of its contents can be seen on the attachment. Referring to this, maybe we should pin point our conscious attention on ethics when there is an over-riding concern for integrity in assessing performance, when our focus is on caring why (purpose) actions are taken, when our learning is value driven and generative; when our perspective is possessing the will, motivation and adaptability for success, plus the capacity to deduce new effects by integrating different disciplines; when our horizon is "very long" - up to 20 years. Maybe it is at this mode , one up from the top of our pyramid illustrated above, that we should develop principles and then cascade them down to the nitty gritty of specific rules and standards.

By combining what we have so far, maybe we have started the journey to replace the pursuit of self interest by the pursuit of negotiated self interest from a holistic (or systemic) perspective.

A final point. A past Chairman of the SIB, Sir Andrew Large, once agreed with me in the presence of the late Lord Weatherhill, at an ICF meeting that it would be a good idea to have some engineers on his team! At least we do add the odd diagram to punctuate the text that is the natural domain of legal minds who appear comfortable with visualising meaning from words alone!

Maybe the lack of an engineering input is one reason for the occasional corporate governance failure.

Mind map of related aspects of the Knowledge Archetype
Knowledge archetype.jpg

Table of 16 alternative author's views of knowledge aspects
Knowledge Archetype.pdf

This page has URL http://tinyurl.com/lfjlgl

Copy of a version of this note....
IBE Open Debate 9th July 2009 .pdf

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With businesses on the "edge-of-chaos" for the foreseeable future in the UK, the combination of co-creative effort to change processes must be supported by technologies that enable with fully operational systems to be deployed in quick time. Usefully, quantum co-creativity (to capture the current vogue for anything "quantum!") is a positive and highly achievable activity made possible with proven techniques for combining decade old methods:-

> value networks (an open source approach)
> declarative language orchestration of business models (developed by Procession plc)
assisted by:-

> Synchronous Leadership and other approaches relevant to the 21st century generically described as "Discovery Leadership and Management."

A current embodiment of "Rapid Synchronous Process Change" is provided below for a simple system for making a holiday request. The overlay of the value network over the work flow is illustrated .


10888571301?profile=original


The full sequence that moves from the value network view to a work flow is shown in the link following.

In practice, the completion of the prototype IS a working system. Adaptation is easily achieved.
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"Edge-of-Chaos"

An unprecedented combination of political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal (PESTEL) factors is creating an “edge of chaos” (see 1) below) condition in the United Kingdom for the next five to 10 years as we realign interests, ambitions and means with changes in mood and conscience.

Usefully for businesses, this challenge to survival can create a “bulldog” mood to win against the odds and pull together in adversity.

But we do need to discover approaches to leadership and management that are compatible with sustained “edge of chaos” business situations. “Discovery Leadership and Management”, orignally announced here, is suggested as an umbrella term for a range of leadership and / or management styles and approaches that will serve stakeholder involvements optimally whatever the situation.

The following visual portrays four possible views we can take of an organisation as we move from a conventional 19th century mechanical system view to a more appropriate living, adaptive system view. Overriding both of these is our current mood. And, as we reflect on our current and future state of global health, we examine our conscience and deep down discover our true purpose, if we are lucky, and find the energy to initiate, or, at the very least, participate in changes that conform to enabling our personal vision.


You can download the complete visual here..
Discovery Leadership and Management.pdf
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Further, three visuals are offered below as a reference for continued dialogue as blueprints for opportunity:-

1) The impact of external events viewed as the balance between ordered and emergent situations...
"Edge-of-chaos" tends to arise when we experience complicated or complex arrangements of activities (shown as tasks or processes below) in combination with extreme difficulty in predicting the future within our chosen horizon or "radar" scan.


2) The engagement and energy of staff at different stages of business maturity and the shifts in perception required...


3) The oportunity for converting external threats to new gains by adopting a different (value network) way of conceiving how work is really done.


The complete set of slides which includes the introduction of value networks /VES and acknowledgements is attached below . Please note that the slides are not accompanied by explanatory text ......
Opportunity blueprint.pdf

You are at http://tinyurl.com/yhwavs3

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A super auditor for extraordinary times

With the publication today of the UK Government's White Paper ( see attachment below figure) on reforming financial markets, the impact of networks is dawning.

New approaches for conducting audits are overdue in a failed financial system. Yet overregulation and rule making can kill innovation and competitive advantage.

FACTORS THAT THE ROLE OF SUPER AUDITORS COULD TAKE INTO ACCOUNT ARE INTRODUCED IN A NE W NOTE - click here

The Note features the interaction of formal workflow, and informal networks (see figure below) and the need for accompanying systems that support agility.

My thanks to the real people who played their part in a recent demonstration of value networks here.


reforming_financial_markets080709.pdf

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Metaphors and paradigms

Value networks combine formal processes/workflow and informal networks. Reference will be made from time to time to metaphors and paradigms as useful ways for looking at organisations. The attached document is a compilation of texts extracted from books written by Professor Mike Jackson at the University of Hull, UK. I am grateful to him for conversations allowing me to share with him some initial ideas on how value networks fit within his System of System Methodologies and his interest.

Metaphors and Paradigms.pdf

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Wal-Mart is harnessing the collective knowledge and wisdom of its own company, supplier companies, academia, government, and non-government organizations to explore mutual challenges and develop solutions that benefit their businesses and local and global communities.

Already a wealth of innovation and insight has led to improved energy use and efficiency, reduced or recycled waste, and increased introduction of environmentally friendly and organic products. Their purposeful value networks called SVN's (which is a way of organising win-win collaboration and alliances with a value network perspective) are currently focussed on:-

Greenhouse Gas
Sustainable Buildings
Alternative Fuels
Logistics
Waste
Packaging
China
Forest & Paper
Food, Agriculture and Seafood
Textiles
Jewelry
Electronics
Chemical Intensive Products

Read more and see the video with interviews with executives here

Thanks to John Maloney for drawing my attention to this

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As we enter a new decade, our mood, guided by our conscience will greatly influence our collective contributions in the UK to enterprise survival and success. Refer to blog here.)

It is appropriate to seek guidance from key figureheads with a long term view:

- Her Majesty, The Queen and
- His Grace, The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams

Accordingly, the following are extracts from addresses by the above at the turn of the decade (2009/2010) with passages that are notable for me highlighted.

The Queen's Speech.....

"It is sixty years since the Commonwealth was created and today, with more than a billion of its members under the age of 25, the organisation remains a strong and practical force for good. Recently I attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Trinidad and Tobago and heard how important the Commonwealth is to young people.

New communication technologies allow them to reach out to the wider world and share their experiences and viewpoints. For many, the practical assistance and networks of the Commonwealth can give skills, lend advice and encourage enterprise.

It is inspiring to learn of some of the work being done by these young people, who bring creativity and innovation to the challenges they face.

It is important to keep discussing issues that concern us all – there can be no more valuable role for our family of nations.

I have been closely associated with the Commonwealth through most of its existence. The personal and living bond I have enjoyed with leaders, and with people the world over, has always been more important in promoting our unity than symbolism alone. The Commonwealth is not an organisation with a mission. It is rather an opportunity for its people to work together to achieve practical solutions to problems.

In many aspects of our lives, whether in sport, the environment, business or culture, the Commonwealth connection remains vivid and enriching. It is, in lots of ways, the face of the future. And with continuing support and dedication, I am confident that this diverse Commonwealth of nations can strengthen the common bond that transcends politics, religion, race and economic circumstances....

....Christians are taught to love their neighbours, having compassion and concern, and being ready to undertake charity and voluntary work to ease the burden of deprivation and disadvantage. We may ourselves be confronted by a bewildering array of difficulties and challenges, but we must never cease to work for a better future for ourselves and for others

The full text is here ... http://tinyurl.com/ycyv2ha

The Archbishop's New Year message for 2010.....

Remember New Year's Eve ten years ago? All our family piled out of doors to watch the fireworks all around the horizon.

And the start of the new millennium was a moment for fireworks, a moment of real excitement. At one level it may just have been a flipping over of the calendar, just a date in the book. But for so many people it represented something we all dream about – a change in the sort of world we live in, a change that could bring us that bit closer to a world where cruelty, suffering and unfairness get dealt with properly..........

...And it's true that it has been a terrible and gruelling ten years in all kinds of ways, with terrorism and war and natural disaster and the financial collapse of the last fifteen months. Plenty there to distract us, you might well think.

But before we do shrug our shoulders and lower our expectations, let's not lose sight of one enormous lesson we can learn from the last decade. The truth is that there are fewer and fewer problems in our world that are just local. Suffering and risk spread across boundaries, even that biggest of all boundaries between the rich and the poor. Crises don't stop at national frontiers. It's one thing that terrorism and environmental challenge and epidemic disease have taught us.

We share the risks. The big question is, can we share the hopes and create the possibilities? Because it's when we do share the hopes that we really see what it is to belong together as human beings, discovering our own humanity as we honour the human dignity of others.

If we look back, quite a bit has been achieved. There is hope but so much remains to be done: each year, nine million children still die before reaching their fifth birthday – from avoidable disease, from violence and undernourishment.
....................

... it's about not losing our hope for change and our love and respect for the dignity of everyone. In a world where risk and suffering are everybody's problem, the needs of our neighbours are the needs of the whole human family. Let's respond just as we do when our immediate family is in need or trouble. We may be amazed by the difference we can make.

God help you make a difference; and God bless you all and those you love in this coming year.


You are at http://tinyurl.com/yz6ndtx

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Achieve win-win with value networks!

As one rather gauche American put it to me, "I am up to my a**e in alligators!"

That was 10 years ago, but I guess that sentiment could apply to us all now, with a nominal $600 trillion of debt still bubbling below the surface like a molten magma.

For those who feel like holding hands and riding events out together , maybe now is the time to adopt new mindsets, skill sets and tool sets to succeed at win-win in competitive environments using the value network perspective - the intuitive move from supply chain and value chain thinking.

A unique opportunity to start with the basics is open to all on Thursday, 11th June at Regent's Business School, London when, aided by a few rope manoeuvres, I'll be introducing attendees to value networks. It is organised by the Central and Westminster Branch of the Chartered Management Institute.

It's a short, participative session of 60 minutes with Q and A and you will have an overview of value networks and analysis (VNA).

What is it?
What can it do for me?
How can I get more of it?

The flyer is attached here...
CMI talk on Value networks D M Flyer 110609.pdf
[The slides accompanying the presentation are now added as a comment below (14th June)]

You are at http://tinyurl.com/qk45f6

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[Before getting to the meat, perhaps it is worth reflecting on the effectiveness of the value network that one of the main characters, St Paul, mentioned below, created. Is it time to re-examine how he cultivated and facilitated it through his journeys and letters? Maybe it is also time for the Church of England or the Roman Catholic Church to discover their existing value networks and co-create a more effective model for communicating, both formally and informally. The structures will follow suit in their own time]

I reproduce views from two very senior figures who represent the tradition of religious faith in the UK. The first is a response given to the revelations of expense claims by UK Members of Parliament last May. The other is offered by senior figure on his installation in a new leadership role.

The question “What can I get away with without technically breaching the regulations?” is not a good basis for any professional behaviour that has real integrity, writes Rowan Williams, the Anglican Church of England Archbishop of Canterbury, in The Times:-

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6345624.ece

He writes further that integrity is about what we value in ourselves or our work for its own sake - what's worth making sacrifices for, what we're glad to have done simply for the kind of act it is.

If I do something just because I'm told to, or if I hold back from something simply because of fear that I shall be caught out, it's a very different business.

It (such a motive) has nothing to do with that sense of being glad to have done something. And without that sense, no one is really going to see public life as a vocation in the old-fashioned meaning of the word - a task you perform because you find yourself in the doing of it.

Further, Rowan Williams says of the installation of the new Archbishop of Westminster to lead Roman Catholics in England and Wales. “The Roman Catholic and Anglican communities in England and Wales have the God-given task… of making the Good News of Jesus compelling and attractive to a generation deeply in need of hope.”

For inspiration in his address to those assembled, the new Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster has turned to St Paul, who illustrates, he explains in a homily delivered from a stone pulpit bedded in lilies, the “true nature of belief in God.”

“Paul was open to the things of God, ready to recognise the touch of the divine in the unexpected.” “Faith in God,” he explains “is not a narrowing of the human mind” but “precisely the opposite.”

The Archbishop puts forth, in a few brief paragraphs, a blueprint for Faith’s place in the public square, drawing on St Paul’s attempts to evangelise the Greeks.

“Some today propose that faith and reason are crudely opposed, with the fervour of faith replacing good reason,” he says. Yet, at the “heart” of Paul’s attempts in the Areopagus was “an appeal to reason. He didn’t seek to impose his belief, nor to exploit anxiety or fear. Rather he had learned that his faith in Christ as compatible with the mind’s capacity for reasoned thought.”

Faith, he continues, is not a private “solitary” activity, but rather draws believers beyond the self and into a community that reaches out beyond the limits of ethnic or class division.

This theory, which the new Archbishop expounds at greater length in The Nation that Forgot God, is essentially that a “positivistic” theory of reason, in which only empirical evidence – that which can be seen, heard, felt or touched – is limited and no guide or basis for “moral reasoning”, the basis on which moral decisions are to be made.

A society limited to this understanding of reason, argues the new Archbishop in his essay, will be unable to “determine shared moral principles and values” and thus create a society lacking cohesion. He suggests that humans find their meaning in relationship rather than isolation.

We are not, he says, “plasticine figures to be moulded into shape at the hands of a political ideology or under economic demands.” Rather the self-giving love of Christ builds faith communities and inspires members to “reach out” and “build” a world that “reflects a little more closely the compassion, the justice, the tender mercy of God.” This he concludes is his “vision” for the Church in England and Wales.

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Today is auspicious as it marks the introduction of a new phrase on the Internet - Discovery Leadership and Management (TM). Note the italics, which adds distinction to the mark. The mark will be removed as soon as possible.

Is it coincidence that a search on Google revealed only two similar groupings of words?

>>> drug discovery leadership and management, when my daughter is Senior Manager of Medical Writing with a leading, global clinical research company
>>> Antarctica discovery leadership and management, when my son is contemplating his next move with team colleagues after having been accepted for the 2012-2013 Antarctic Race

Discovery Leadership and Management (TM) will be used to enable people and organisations to thrive in the 21st century despite the increasing unpredictability of events.

The visusal that supports this is now in the hands of a select group of SME's in the UK. Their opportunity is to experience and mould a new way of working that equips them for unpredictable times and discover the joy of co-creative achievement at every level.

A key underpinning discipline is now the Value Exchange System (VES), governed by overarching organising principles, and a reformulation of VNA depicted in the figure below.

Responsibility for this announcement must rest with me, but I have been influenced to take action by many colleagues, in particular:

Dr Charles Savage, author of "5th Generation Management" on leadership and management issues.

David Chassels CA, CEO of Procession, on adaptable work flow design.


10888570885?profile=original

Further announcements will be made as events unfold. See comments below.

This is also a special time for all managers in the UK who are members of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). A CMI Manifesto has been launched, focused on improving management and leadership skills in the UK. Seek it out and sign up if appropriate.

Discovery Management and Leadership is given further context here.

You are at http://tinyurl.com/y8cbd6p
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Blogs list

The following is a list of blogs made in the years up to 2015.

Announcing "Discovery Leadership and Management (TM")
Announcing "quantum co-creativity (TM)"
Announcing "Rapid Synchronous Process Change (TM)"
A super auditor for extraordinary times
Achieve win-win with value networks
BEIN(2)
Big Society Programme - The MakeItZone
Christmas Greetings - the Trinity / Triune value network
City firm adds value networks to portfolio

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