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The Empire of the Primrose

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  The Empire of the Primrose The city fell in a single night Holding it would take longer So the painters were summoned in the gloom And the saints on the stone walls... Were given his family's eyes   A bloodline was found for him Older than the walls Older than the kings who raised them Now even the iron earth must forget It ever belonged to anyone else... I am the vessel, I am the decree The apex of empire, the false purity Holding the pale coronal into the glare Chartered to conquer the silence out there A seed of cold fences, an ark of damp clay Bending the void to the shape of decay The cycle resets in the dusk of the dream Cobblestone alleys and banners unseen Down the discrepant and tapering throat Past broken angels where gargoyles float Into the wood of the rot and the mould Smelling of Devon and iron gone cold One yellow petal, immaculate bloom Crushing the soul with the weight of its doom Touch the cold stem—and the spires bend back Cobbles turn red on the furnace-h...

Education Drivers, Innovation, Culture and Targets

Education Drivers   (Fullan) personalised student centred capacity systemness System Needs & Change   (Clayton Christensen) efficiency (faster & cheaper) sustaining (improve current system needs), disruptive (make complicated solutions simpler) Enabler Technologies  internet ubiquitous mobile efficient (cost and HR support) rich content Purpose and Target Doing the same things the same way will not work Move from a centralised authority to a discreet and   targeted system focus on targeted client audiences (not at the system middle) view schools as interconnected cottage industries focus on teaching and learning work practices (Hattie) Why, then how then  what  Innovation and Culture innovation is as important for leaders as strategy and operational excellence Innovation to enable continuous improvement (not big bang) Disciplined, deliberate, relentless Developing business units cultur...

Strategy and Culture

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Culture eats strategy  Culture can be identified in a business unit's artifacts : vision,  norms,  symbols,  beliefs,  behaviors, and  traditions. Strategy - successful strategies need supportive cultures.   Issue Q : How does a business unit get the best out of strategy in periods of uncertainty and structural change. (How do you get buy-in to achieve what needs to be achieved?) ---------------------------------------------------   The Culture of a Business Unit   Business Unit Questions: How do our artifacts describe us? What artifacts actively attracts people to use our services? What artifacts actively discourage success? Immediate culture questions Vision and Mission  how is the vision made evident throughout all of our activities? is the vision and mission persuasive?  Collaboration  how do our projects cross support and benefit each other? Education  how do...