Ian Burbidge.

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Thinking out loud…

  • 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

  • On the Siren’s song of our current systems

    As people present to their GPs in increasing numbers with lifestyle illnesses the traditional constraints of our medical systems are creaking. Hospitals established on a factory model to achieve economies… Read more

  • On the need for human-centred design

    It strikes me as strange that we have to centre design around humans. Human-centred design “is a creative problem-solving approach that puts the customer or beneficiary at the centre, with… Read more

  • On escaping from the tyranny of tasks

    This is a piece I wrote as I took some time off recently and reflected on my sense of always needing to be busy doing things, of being productive, and… Read more

  • On the thinking/doing gap

    When I need to make a difficult phone call I almost always have a feeling of, oh crap! Actually, let me be completely honest, any phone call. I just don’t… Read more

  • On switching states

    I sometimes wonder about the extent to which we see change as the need to switch from one state to another. To see things this way is to see change… Read more

  • On breaking out of the norm

    It’s perhaps easy to assume our challenges are unique to the worlds we are familiar with. Our lives, our communities, the sector we work in. I’m a sector-surfer, moving between… Read more

  • On valuing the intangibles

    I’m watching the building opposite lurch skyward, day by day, block of concrete by protrusion of steel wires. Slowly the green vista beyond disappears. The reservoir that flattens the view… Read more

  • On power

    When we think about systems change we can often think of a complex system in isolation from all others, and yet that’s an artificial simplification of the kind we are… Read more

  • On the language of systems (not all problems are created equal)

    Sometimes I wonder if there is an obsession among those of us working in the broad field of social change to constantly be ahead of the intellectual curve and using… Read more

  • On balancing acts

    We all know the public sector faces unprecedented pressures. Rising demand and expectations are compounded by Covid19 backlogs and falling budgets. These are the immediate and pressing concerns that public… Read more

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