Deny till you die
An examination of how denial can preserve uncertainty long after the original question should have been answered.
Emission Zero
Emisson Zero
Pierre von Rohn — The Independent Expert
There is a particular kind of independence that organisations value enormously. The independent consultant has no permanent allegiance, carries no corporate history and is supposedly free to judge each problem on its merits. This makes him especially attractive when technical decisions are difficult, suppliers disagree and management would prefer an opinion that appears to have […]
Deny Till You Die – Acquitted
There are management philosophies that arrive in books, usually accompanied by diagrams. Others develop more organically. A man I will call Mr VAM preferred two short formulations. “In sales and war all is allowed” dealt with the period in which something still had to be achieved. “Deny till you die” dealt with what came afterwards. […]
When Everyone Is Right and the Result Is Wrong
A collection of sensible departmental decisions can still produce an outcome that nobody intended.
Finding the Right Question
Why better results often depend less on improving the answer than on examining the assumptions and limitations built into the question itself.
The Measure That Becomes the Job
Measurements help organisations steer, but over time the indicator can quietly replace the purpose it was meant to represent.
The Assumption Nobody Remembers Making
Some of the strongest constraints in an organisation are decisions whose original reasons have disappeared.
The Problem May Live Somewhere Else
The place where a problem becomes visible is often not the place where it began.
Looking Sideways
Comparable problems in other industries can reveal options that remain invisible when organisations search only among familiar solutions.
Teams Are Valuable Because People Are Incomplete
The purpose of a team is not to assemble perfect individuals, but to combine perspectives that no one person can hold completely.