Thinking out loud…
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On being a systems entrepreneur
How do we move forward in an uncertain world? A systems entrepreneur recognises that whatever their interests and various areas of expertise, they are moving forward into an unknown world.… Read more
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On social movements as energy for change
Social movements are about trying to change the status quo. Maybe you’re fighting for a particular service to be provided in the first place, because someone you love or care… Read more
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On meetings
Different people use meetings in different ways, and dysfunctional meetings are as often a product of clashes of intention as they are clashes of purpose or personality. Let’s ignore, for… Read more
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On societal immune systems
Societies have laws, customs and institutions to deal with those who live outside the accepted boundaries of ‘normality’ – push those boundaries and the immune response might land you in… Read more
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On a systematic dismantling of the local state? (part 3)
In the previous two articles I’ve explored the reasons why we should care about the state of local government, underlaid by the assumption that people don’t care as much as… Read more
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On the things about local public services you never realised you cared about (part 2)
Our public services are looking increasingly broken, and they look more broken in some areas than others. Why should this be? In part one of this three-part series I looked… Read more
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On the things about local public services you never realised you cared about (part 1)
Our public services are looking increasingly broken, and they look more broken in some areas than others. Why should this be? The UK remains one of the most centralised states,… Read more
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On outdated public services
As office workers and schoolchildren were hard at work on the afternoon of 12 May 2008, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck Sichuan province in China. The effects were devastating: over… Read more
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On knowing if a thing is a thing
When conditions are stable it is easier to spot an irregularity. A regular heartbeat suddenly shows an arrhythmia, a heathy person develops the ‘flu, freely flowing traffic backs up into… Read more
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On geography and systems change
I studied geography at university, not just because it was the one subject enjoyed the most but it was the one I found most fascinating. At its heart geography is… Read more
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On paying attention
Multitasking is a myth – handling interruptions at work actually requires rapid task-switching, which can bear a cost to our health. “Choice of attention – to pay attention to this… Read more
Categories:
- Autobiographical + Spiritual (22)
- Behaviour + Incentives (25)
- Change + Innovation (69)
- Collaboration + Teams (31)
- Geography+Community (61)
- Governance + Decisions (37)
- Outcomes + Evaluation (33)
- Performance + Productivity (31)
- Strategy + Foresight (45)
- Systems + Complexity (60)
Ian Burbidge. 