Tag Archives: management

Short Circuit

Posted on May 10, 2015 by InspGuilfoyle

This is Stick Boss. Stick Boss is basically a good guy who cares about his organisation and wants the best for people. Unfortunately, he has a problem with his brain. This means that just as he’s on the cusp of … Continue reading →

Posted in Systems thinking | Tagged management, performance measurement, Stick Child, systems thinking, targets | 5 Comments

Maths Class

Posted on May 4, 2015 by InspGuilfoyle

Here’s Stick Teacher. Today Stick Teacher is going to run through a few sums with the Stick Children. Adults might find his case studies useful too. Stick Teacher is going to demonstrate how to save money whilst providing a better service – what’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Systems thinking | Tagged division of labour, management, process improvement, Stick Child, systems thinking | 6 Comments

Detox

Posted on April 25, 2015 by InspGuilfoyle

Whilst flicking through TV channels recently, I came across a consumer advice programme, where the reporter was researching the effectiveness of self-administered ‘detox’ products. The TV crew followed her for three days as she consumed nothing but ‘specially formulated’ fruit … Continue reading →

Posted in Systems thinking | Tagged binary comparisons, management, performance management, performance measurement, police, Stick Child, targets | 3 Comments

Comfort Blanket

Posted on April 17, 2015 by InspGuilfoyle

When Stick Child was a bit younger, he had a little comfort blanket. Here he is with it, dreaming about smashing up some arbitrary numerical targets. (That’s supposed to be the moon in the window by the way – not a … Continue reading →

Posted in Systems thinking | Tagged binary comparisons, management, performance management, police, Stick Child, targets | 2 Comments

Avoidable Harm

Posted on December 6, 2014 by InspGuilfoyle

I recently had a conversation on Twitter about a national campaign called ‘Sign up to Safety’, which aims to reduce avoidable harm in the NHS. Now, avoidable harm is clearly something worth tackling. The sticking point for me was that … Continue reading →

Posted in Systems thinking | Tagged command and control, management, nhs, performance management, Stick Child, targets | 9 Comments

A Tale of Two Kings

Posted on November 16, 2014 by InspGuilfoyle

At bedtime, Stick Child’s Daddy often reads his son a story from his favourite story book, “Medieval Stories from Stick Kingdom with an Inevitable Systems Thinking Moral”. One recent story they particularly enjoyed was called “A Tale of Two Kings”, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Systems thinking | Tagged command and control, management, organisational trust, Stick Child, systems thinking | 2 Comments

Stick Child and The Fraggles

Posted on November 12, 2014 by InspGuilfoyle

Recently, Stick Child was watching the television channel ‘Stick Gold’, when he came across an episode of the 1980s children’s show, Fraggle Rock. If you’re about the same age as Stick Child’s Daddy, you may well remember it too. Fraggle … Continue reading →

Posted in Systems thinking | Tagged decision making, management, performance management, Stick Child, systems thinking | Leave a comment