The Curious Coffee Club
For those curious to help happier staff deliver better things to customers, faster.
Hi. I’m Simon.
I like to share simple ideas for helping organisations survive and thrive.
Technology is Necessary,
But Not Sufficient
Adopting new technologies can offer advantages, but translating those advantages into bottom-line benefits often requires us to change the organisational rules.
This session illustrates this idea using a real-world story, along with some practical advice on how to realise the - often untapped - benefits of technology.
A Companion to Your Morning Coffee
A compilation of short articles that aims to help anyone better understand and uproot the source of organisational dysfunctions, so happier staff can deliver better things to customers, sooner.
Sign-up to receive a free copy of the book, and future articles sent directly to your inbox.
Upcoming Events
20th May ‘24
“Technology is Necessary,
But Not Sufficient”
DeveloperWeek Europe (Online)
6th Jun ‘24
“Cracking Cholera’s Code: Victorian Insights for Today’s Technologist”
DevDays Europe (Online)
20th Nov ‘24
“Technology is Necessary,
But Not Sufficient”
RPA Europe (Online)
Recent articles
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Why do I like driving, and what has that got to do with organisational improvement?
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What are two seemingly innocuous but harmful organisational change pitfalls?
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What can garbage collectors teach us about process improvement?
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How did my grumpy neighbour help me see any one problem has many solutions?
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How does Dungeons & Dragons teach us to be better at setting goals and planning?
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What did a blood test teach me about being a better manager?
Previous talks
Best enjoyed with a coffee.
Cracking Cholera’s Code
It is too easy for technology to constrain rather than enable us. Transformations too often fall short, and new technology rarely creates the expected bottom-line benefits.
What one key lesson can Victorian London teach modern organisations about avoiding this trap?
Systems Thinking for Happy Staff & Elated Customers
What if most problems an organisation faces weren’t actually individual problems, but actually stemmed from the same underlying cause? What if - by tackling that underlying cause - we could make all those obstacles disappear in one go? And, what if that process was surprisingly simple?
Sociocracy for a Consultant
As a business change consultant I was fortunate to employ tools from Sociocracy in a few different settings, from tactical to strategic - sometimes successful, and sometimes not - but always offering valuable lessons.
Seeing Clearly in Complexity
The Theory of Constraints is a set of thinking tools that brings hard science to social change, allowing us to be methodical in our approach to organisational change. This talk covers the Current Reality Tree, a simple thinking tool that brings clarity and focus when leading change in seemingly complex organisations.
Why Organisations Get Stuck, and How You Can Help
Organisations are complex, where no one person understands the whole. They are places where it’s often hard to see the full effect of our actions. This means, when people try to improve the organisation, they often make it worse, without realising - despite even the most positive intent.
This is a story of how organisations can become stuck, and how you can help.
Leveraging System Thinking
In this podcast, we talk about taking a systems thinking approach to improving organisational performance. Notably, the need to challenge assumptions, to identify, understand and manage constraints, and how important it is to recognise cognitive dissonance.