Systems thinking, culture of reliability and safety

Fantastic read from Nick Pidgeon on how systems approaches, Turner’s MMD, sensemaking, failure and learning intersect to create or mask ‘safety’. Can’t do it justice, so just a few extracts: ·        “By 1990, it was clear that the .. intellectual focus was less on analysing how past accidents had occurred .. and more towards .. how… Continue reading Systems thinking, culture of reliability and safety

“How can I know what I think till I see what I say?” – Karl Weick on sensemaking

“How can I know what I think till I see what I say?” I’ve always liked this expression from Karl Weick (taken from Graham Wallas), discussing the retrospective justification element of sensemaking. Pretty heavy for a Sunday morning my time. But here we are. Sensemaking is argued to entail: (image 1) ·        Thoughts justifying earlier words… Continue reading “How can I know what I think till I see what I say?” – Karl Weick on sensemaking

Karl Weick: Leadership as the Legitimation of Doubt

An interesting article from Karl Weick discussing the merits of ‘leadership as the Legitimation of Doubt’. He argues the strengths of a leader saying ‘I don’t know’. Some extracts: ·        Providing an example, he argues that a leader saying “I don’t know,” … was a strong act of leadership, not a weak one” ·        “It was strong… Continue reading Karl Weick: Leadership as the Legitimation of Doubt