Post on 31-Jul-2019
“Don’t Waste a Good Crisis – How To Succeed in Today’s
Resources Sector”
Barry Bloch
Chief Operating Officer – Project Support Services
1
We are in crisis!
Global turmoil
Increasing competitiveness
Increasing regulatory complexity
Technological innovation
Economic recession
Accelerated new entrants
Changing demands of society
New operating models
Industry consolidation
Political rollercoaster Significant
redundancies
We face four fundamental challenges
3 8100451
GROWTH AND SURVIVAL
COMPETITION BEYOND TRADITIONAL MARKETS
OPERATING MODELS BEYOND ORGANISATIONAL MODELS
DISRUPTION BEYOND CHANGE
We are not changing fast enough!
Glo
bal
Co
mp
eti
tiven
ess
Low
High
Delivering tonnage and cost
Managing safety procedures +
Attracting, retaining, developing and managing people safely +
Building new stakeholder relationships +
Complying with increased governance requirements +
Driving core business innovation +
Delivering disruptive transformation +
Creating new ways of doing business +
Finding new streams of revenue +
~1980s ~1990s ~2000s ~ 2015
We wasted
the boom
Firstly we need to stop believing our own
nonsense!
Common Sense
Common Nonsense
Uncommon Sense
Uncommon Sense
Uncommon Nonsense
Uncommon Nonsense
What W
e B
elie
ve T
o B
e T
rue
Actually ‘True’
Actually ‘False’
Competitive Advantage
Competitive Advantage
Competitive Disadvantage
Competitive Disadvantage
License To Play
Industry Destroyers
Source: Professor J Goddard; 2004
Your
Company
Your
Competitors
Common nonsense – It is critical to make things
practical and simple
Uncommon sense – We can thrive on the
edge of chaos
• Organisations which are most adaptable and
dynamic operate in a zone between order and
disorder
• They are teetering between tilting and falling:
a state of permanent “almost-fell”
• This state is the hallmark of a thriving economy
and healthy organisations…
• The most productive change always occur on the
edge of chaos
The most successful organisations remain
poised in the act of collapsing
Common nonsense – All change needs to be
managed and controlled with CLOCKWARE
• Rational planning and decision-making
methods that are used along with
measures, controls and feedback
mechanisms only work where there is a
high degree of agreement and certainty
• Yet we try manage all change using
CLOCKWARE
Management processes that are rational, planned, standardized,
controlled, measured and efficient deliver change
Leading on the Edge with SWARMWARE
• Used on the edge between complexity, ambiguity and disintegration
• Processes for meeting new challenges and exploring new possibilities
• Employ experimentation, intuition, risk-taking, incubation, exploration and the freeing up of individuals working at the edge of knowledge and experience
• Used where major growth and change are required in an environment of little or partial agreement and certainty
There is another way to make the most of a
good crisis
Far from Agreement
Far from Certainty
Close to Agreement
Close to Certainty
THE RATIONAL ARENA - Clockware
THE WHAT ARENA –
Strategic focus & alignment
THE HOW ARENA –
process focus & control
CHAOS -anarchy & disintegration
4. Encourage Innovation, capture and reward it
2. Welcome unpredictability, paradox and learning on the run
3. Liberate information and relationship for independent decisions
THE EDGE – Swarmware
1. Focus on Good Enough Vision and Simple Rules (not solutions)
5. Relentlessly keep your organisation on the edge and constantly manage anxiety
Leading on the edge
Source: Professor R Anderson; 2008
• Focus on Good Enough Vision and Simple Rules (not solutions)
• Welcome unpredictability, paradox and learning on the run
• Liberate information and relationship for independent decisions
• Encourage innovation, capture and reward it
• Relentlessly keep your organization on the edge and constantly manage anxiety
Swarmware Tools
• Provide minimum specifications rather
than trying to plan every detail
• Model and teach skillful application of
80/20
• Clarify and get buy-in on non –
negotiable simple rules
Focus on Good Enough Vision and Simple Rules
(not solutions)
• Say YES
• Avoid smoothing over contradictions
• Always ask - what did you learn, how
should we do it next time, what can
you tell others?
Welcome unpredictability, paradox and
learning on the run
• Make all information available to everyone and ensure people know how to use it
• Remove hierarchical blocks and impregnable silos
• Encourage interaction, collaboration and communication
• Create a mistake tolerant culture that encourages independence
Liberating information and relationship for
independent decisions
• Experiment at the fringes, not in
your core business. Incubate!
• Fail fast!
• Support and spread innovations
that deliver better, faster, smarter
• Create robust rewards and deliver
them consistently and generously
Encouraging innovation, capturing and
rewarding it
• Remember that real growth occurs
on the edge - help people see this
and welcome it
• Create a culture of courage, a
willingness to be wrong and positive
thinking
• Compassionately manage reactions
to the inevitable pressure and
stress - first in yourself, second in
those you lead
Relentlessly keep your system on the edge and
constantly manage anxiety
• Balance data, control and planning with spontaneous action,
intuition, exploration and freedom
• The tight/loose mix is the key
• Cohesive and disciplined teams for day to day issues
• Spontaneous networks with open conflict and
dialogue for generating growth
In practice we need to lead with both Clockware
and Swarmware together
Objectively
Selecting Those
Projects That
Hold Promise
Generating
Value Adding
Ideas &
Opportunities
Effectively
Managing A
Portfolio Of
Projects
Enabling
Successful
Implementation
In Operations
Measuring The
Value Delivered
& Capturing
Learning's
A
B D C D C
E
Clock-ware
control, governance, delivery
Swarm-ware
ideas, innovation, new possibilities
Significant interface challenges
and the key to success
Innovation Organization
Two cultures must co-exist to succeed
Source: John McGagh; 2008
• The role of the leader is increasingly complex and demanding
and traditional leadership is insufficient in the face of the current
economic crisis
• Our leaders need to be courageous so as not to waste a good
crisis
• Our culture need to move beyond managing the “Science of the
Known” to embracing the “Art of the Unknown”
• To achieve this we need to challenge our “Uncommon
Nonsenses” and move from leading change with “Clockware” to
driving transformation through “Swarmware”
Conclusion
19 8100451
• The role of the leader is increasingly complex and demanding
and traditional leadership is insufficient in the face of the current
economic crisis
• Our leaders need to be courageous so as not to waste a good
crisis
• Our culture need to move beyond managing the “Science of the
Known” to embracing the “Art of the Unknown”
• To achieve this we need to challenge our “Uncommon
Nonsenses” and move from leading change with “Clockware” to
driving transformation through “Swarmware”
Conclusion
20 8100451