Month: October 2017
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The Map is not the Territory
'…in our march to simplify reality with useful models…we confuse the models with reality. For many people, the model creates its own reality. It is as if the spreadsheet comes to life. We forget that reality is a lot messier.' A good reminder from Shane […]
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Hockey Stick Dreams, Hairy Back Reality
Reading this sobering FT piece recently about how (unfortunately) UK productivity growth has again fallen short of OBR forecasts reminded me of the classic McKinsey idea of hockey stick dreams and hairy back reality. The OBR forecasts over the years have followed the […]
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Post of the Month – September 2017 – The Winner
Something of a run-away winner in this months vote. Well done to Shane O'Leary who won with his post: Dear Planners, trying to sound smart actually makes you look stupid. Shane – you join the hall of fame. My thanks to everyone that […]
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Post of the Month – September 2017 – The Vote
Thanks for the nominations. So our vote this month is between: A Driving Lesson by Phil Adams From Clapping to Likes, and Back Again by Matt Locke The Six Fundamental Concepts of Systems Thinking by Leyla Acaroglu Dear Planners, trying to sound smart actually makes […]
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Frozen Accidents, and Predicting The Future
I rather liked the idea of 'frozen accidents', expounded here by Shane Parrish. He quotes from physicist Murray Gell-Man who believed that the things we observe in the world are the result of both a set of fundamental laws, but also random […]
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Post of the Month – September 2017 – Nominations
It's Post of the Month time. If you have any posts that you've read over the past month and thought were particularly good please do nominate them in the comments below or direct. As always I've set out a short starting list below […]