An umbrella of experiments

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An umbrella of experiments by @bryanMMathers is licenced under CC-BY-ND

A friend challenged me this week on where my newsletter was going. Admittedly, I have no idea. It was meant to be an experiment, though — an umbrella for experiments, if you will…

Diffusion of Innovation

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Diffusion of Innovation by @bryanMMathers is licenced under CC-BY-ND

Aha! So it’s not just me…

When I first saw this, it face-slapped me like an un-hinged double hi-five. At the time, I was pitching an e-portfolio solution to different training organisations, which was really quite hit and miss. After a while, I realised the product I was selling was actually “Change” – and that change meant pain. Potential customers varied wildly in their appetite for change, but also in their ability to change…

Scaling doesn’t care

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Scaling doesn’t care by @bryanMMathers is licenced under CC-BY-ND

Scaling often doesn’t care. Outsource. Cut out the fat. A business must continually drive to be more efficient – and indeed there are many ways to do just that. On paper, it may make sense. But as a business, you are your people. Forget about them at your peril…

The Binary Decision

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The Binary Decision by @bryanMMathers is licenced under CC-BY-ND

I’m now in the habit of carrying around a sketchbook and scribbling down a thought as it jumps around in my brain. I’ve recently noticed that being creative requires a lot of noticing (notice what i did there?…) In this instance I was noticing how decisions are rarely binary, even thought its in our nature to reduce them to a binary state in order to be able to make a decision we’re happy with.

Ideation and thinkery…

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Ideation and thinkery… by @bryanMMathers is licenced under CC-BY-ND

Oh, the need for a creative process in order to ideate and innovate! In my experience, people have different strengths when it comes to thinking, and without a recognition of this (and a process), one person’s sideways idea is discounted as silly, or even worse, seen as a threat. Tom Barrett’s blog entitled “The ebb and flow between divergent and convergent thinking” caught my eye, and before long I found myself pruning trees…

What every business needs…

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What every business needs… by @bryanMMathers is licenced under CC-BY-ND

I was on a train with Doug Belshaw and John Webber recently, and someone mentioned an appointment described as “director of out-of-the-box”. I suddenly realised what I had seen play out in all the businesses I’ve been involved with – the tension between Quality and Innovation. Obviously, every business needs both…

Success comes in Cans

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Success comes in Cans by @bryanMMathers is licenced under CC-BY-ND

I really liked this thought from @urban_teacher, and as is so often the way, stopped everything else I was doing in order to create the half-baked version that existed in my head…

Outbreak of Hope

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Outbreak of Hope by @bryanMMathers is licenced under CC-BY-ND

Here’s another thought emerging from a conversation at @dotcomrades – with reference to the vote for Independence in Scotland. I’m fascinated by hope – as its relationship with strong leadership…

Planning Buckets for Scope

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Planning Buckets for Scope by @bryanMMathers is licenced under CC-BY-ND

I created this image to go with Doug Belshaw’s blogpost on “Setting an Agile School Rhythm” …

The definition of innovation…

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The definition of innovation… by @bryanMMathers is licenced under CC-BY-ND

Another image from Richard Culatta, Director of EdTech for the US Dept of Education. He was talking about Impact and Scale of emerging edTech and the need to define Innovation in terms of Scale and Impact. This makes a lot of sense to me…