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The Ethereal Ascent

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  The Ethereal Ascent The air in the room is violently still, creating a heavy pressure. She has long stopped looking at the clock, realising that time here is not a sequence but a weight. The waiting room has fractured; the mundane reality of plastic chairs and linoleum flooring splinters into a jagged, stained-glass fever dream. High-pitched frequencies of burning red and sickly blues vibrate as if hardened walls, echoing the frantic noise of a mind that has run out of distractions. Every sharp edge of colour feels like a spiritual siege, a sensory reminder that her momentum has been forcibly halted. There is no use in pacing. There is no use in resisting the authoritative hand of the "in-between." To survive this stall, she must stop fighting the current and become part of the stagnant water. She looks out, as if just awakened, and does the only thing left to recollect. She breathes. She waits. She waits for the shards to align once more. Be Creative and Innovative wit...

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...