One pattern we saw in early SenseMaker projects was challenge and (on occasion) rejection of results by the end client. What I'd failed to do was spend enough time with them, ensuring that they "owned" the signifiers, saw the data coming in, got to play with SenseMaker themselves. My tendency had been to let them sit back early in the process, for fear of disrupting an early relationship with them.

Continue reading "Avoiding client rejection later, annoy them now..." »

Having spent a couple of hours in the dentist's chair this morning, I feel like Faceache (from Buster, one of the great British comics of the 1970s). Uncomfortable enough to have necessitated a quick nap and turning down a chat with Steve in town this afternoon before he flies.

If I can figure out how to add an image, I'll include that here too.

Continue reading "Toothache, Faceache and adaptation" »

The past week has been a major mix of approaches, headsets and sectors. I've run a masterclass on Internal Communications, been part of a two-day conference for the Medinge branding thinktank and done a day's intensive training on SenseMaker with Steve and Michael. One of the things that always feels like a challenge is the difference between the Cognitive Edge world and the others. It's easy to forget how different much of the world sees things.

Continue reading "Ah-ha moments " »

It's a little daunting to step up to take the microphone following on from Russell. I am, of necessity, going to focus more on the practitioner/commercial side of things. Having spent much of the past 15 months on narrative capture projects from around the world, I'm planning to share some of the thinking and some of the lessons from those in the next couple of weeks.

Continue reading "A practitioner's viewpoint" »

I appreciate the opportunity to be the guest blogger on this site the past two weeks. The comments from the readers have been excellent! We need to make sure that ideas of Cognitive Edge are made known to the individuals in health care who now stand at the brink of making significant improvements in the lives of many people. In particular we need to make sure of the following:

Continue reading "Thanks!" »

This past week we discussed the Flexner Report and its impact on the last century of health care, medical practice and medical education. We also explored how this fit into David's Charles Handy S-curves of utility of various paradigms in the broader perspective of organizational management. The February issue of Academic Medicine is devoted to a post-Flexner perspective on the future of medical education. From what I've seen,this will indeed be complex!

Continue reading "An Approaching Shift in Medical Education?" »

Thirty years ago, an attachment that became known as the "Capability Manifesto" was published in the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce Journal http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/heca/manifesto. This crystalized a philosophy, the Capability Movement, that proved to be a long lived branching in how higher education viewed itself and its role. Now, somewhat late to the party, health care is "discovering" the same concept. Why is this important?

Continue reading "We Need Health Care "Capatance"" »

The comments shared yesterday from a well-respected Dean of a medical school highlight a collision of ideas. On the one hand, we have Complexity Theory attempting to "make sense" out of the complex problems in health care. On the other hand, we have another powerful force, "disruptive innovation", that maximizes value out of simplification of complicated and complex problems. Are these two apparently competing philosophies on a collision course? Will they demolish each other and leave us picking up the pieces? Perhaps, unless we can BE SMART.

Continue reading "A Collision of Ideas: Synthesis or Destruction?" »

I have asked some of my colleagues to read this blog and offer their comments. The following comes from one of the brightest thinkers in medical education I know. He is the Dean of a medical school, and I have always respected his judgement. His comments have some important implications. I ask you to read them, and try to answer the questions he poses. They will form the basis of what we will discuss tomorrow.

Continue reading "Important Comments" »

Yesterday we explored how recognition of the importance of attractors allowed the Plexus Institute to produce nonlinear positive results in the reduction of MRSA in health care settings. Complexity Theory really works! How can organizations amplify attractors and increase their productivity, effectiveness and have enjoyment in the process? No, you're not dreaming. It's a "tribal" thing. Read on.....

Continue reading "It's Tribal" »