jan de man

No shit Sherlock

OK. This is the big news in Swedish educational system today - a government agency has arrived at the conclusion that quality in leadership in schools affect students' results. 

This is a breathtaking result. 

Not the result in itself, because most who run other organizations would say this in general is true. The most significant influence on long term results is from leadership.

What is breathtaking is that it has taken the Swedish school system until 2009 to realize this fact that they are not an exception from this general rule. That is utterly mind-blowing and says something of the introvert culture in the school system.

So, men and women in educational power positions: 

1. Figure out which teachers, leaders and local government officials that don't have the right leadership skills and attitudes.
2. Train the ones that can be trained (Bloody fast!)
3. Replace the rest (Bloody fast!)

Please do this quickly as my children are in the system now and deserve nothing less that top notch school leadership skills.

You heard me. Get moving.

//jan

PS. If you want to see/read some of the stories today [in Swedish] check here and here.

Worth a new look

This is one of TED's most popular videos. I watch it once in a while. You should to. Especially if you have kids in school. And then ask yourself if you think your kids' schools are giving them the right education.

If you're up for more you can also check this clip on Dan Pink's blog.

//jan

Skillnaden på rubrik och innehåll

Min hemkommun Vaxholm söker två nya förvaltningschefer - en socialchef och en utbildningschef. Med okonventionella rubriker skall förhoppningsvis spännande kandidater söka. Utbildningschefensjobbet får rubriken pedagogisk inspiratör och socialchefsjobbet får rubriken social entreprenör. Jag vet inte hur du funkar, men jag gör mig ändå några associationer när jag läser sådana rubriker. Jag tänker, nu dj-lar skall det rockas kommunal verksamhet, häftigt.

Sen läser jag innehållet i rektyteringsunderlaget och kommer ned på jorden igen. Präktig kanslisvenska och en i mitt tycke konventionell byråkratprofil, om än inbäddad i stora mängder modern managementlingo. Personligen tycker jag att de är bland de pladdrigaste profiler jag sett på länge. Och det uppstår ingen koppling mellan ansatserna i rubrikerna och de faktiska kravprofilerna. 

Ta en titt här själv.

Jag har frågat kommunalrådet och han säger att de profilerna är skrivna så att det blir ett utvecklingsmandat. Jojo. Alltså, det är ju helt rätt och vad kommunen behöver. Men jag skulle bli mycket mycket förvånad om det tillräder något annat än en något yngre byråkrat än de vi haft hittills. Det gäller ju trots allt att inte utmana den kommunala verkligheten för mycket. Vad skulle inte det kunna leda till? Uj uj.

//jan

Unbelievable

This film made me want to cry.

I can't blame IBM for wanting to make the reel. But I do find it offensive that civil servants that clearly have massively overspent the budget for the toll system so blatantly will play into its supplier's hands and help make this propaganda video. They probably think all is forgiven. They probably think it will spill over positively on the brand of Stockholm. It might even do that. But they should have the courtesy of extending thanks and apologies to the patient taxpayers of Stockholm. 

For the record: I'm all for the toll system in itself. I just feel this film is so arrogant towards the taxpayers.

//jan

Death to the conference venue!

Why are modern (or actually unmodern) conference facilities so dreadful???!!!

I know, this is no new discovery. But I have been in and out of these places for more than 15 years now and NOTHING HAS HAPPENED. It is a f**king discrace and an insult to people's intelligence.

Face it. The average conference facility is a lousy learning environment, a mediocre meeting space (at best), and a very bad design experience. On top of things most places are ugly, have insanely uncomfortable furniture, sport lousy technology and are extremely ugly. 

And worst of all, the staff see themselves as in the facility management business and not in the learning enhancement business. 

Arrgghhh.

Still, we continue to go to these places and pretend they are actually useful. 

How long shall the charade go on?

//jan

Nobody cares

On average, nobody cares about your work. 

On average, nobody cares about my work either.

Perhaps good to ponder a little before the new work week kicks in.

//jan

Why, oh why?

Why can't organizations be more humane?

Why are we humans unwilling to adapt to the feedback the planet is giving us?

Why do so many people accept to live without exploring their full potential?

Why is poverty so wide-spread when we have more than enough for everyone?

Why are greedy, self-centered managers allowed to be promoted?

Why is school so out of tune of the developments in the world?

Why do book publishers think so conservatively about their customers?

Why is service so bad in so many places?

Why is creativity genuinely not sought after in most organizations?

Why don't we ask why more often?

--

Asking why is a good way to find opportunity and new energy to create and change stuff.

//jan

I hate my lists - or do I...?

As most people I have lists to help keep track of my work and personal life. The tough bit is I a little too often misplace my current list. So, I then start a new one. And then the old list tends to resurface after a while and I use both the new one and the old one. 

Another aspects of my lists is that I pick any piece of loose paper I have handy. Never a note book. 

Once I have my paper I write on any blank spot I can find. I start out like a normal list from top to bottom and then after a while I start scribbling anywhere. Sometimes even notes, like a phone number or an email address.

I've more or less always disliked my list habits and have several times tried to use them properly. But I always end up in my old pattern. This has caused some guilt to build over the years. I scorn myself for not being as productive as I could be. But guilt is a naughty and energy consuming feeling to harbor and I need to let it go.

So, I've decided to change perspective. 

My new self-induced story is that I have a perfect list system - for me. And that when I look hard at the evidence I can see it works well with my preferred style of working and the nature of work I do. In my line of work I can't do things linearly. It's constant multi-tasking an over-extending. I allow myself to do stuff not on the list and have realized that my list isn't actually a todo-list. 

It is a don't-forget-list.

Often I find myself crossing off lots of stuff at once, because things have been completed without checking the list. (That's when I normally misplace it, it can be days between list checks.) And in hindsight I can see I tend to do things in more or less the right priority.

But there is one important insight for me from this reflection on lists. Once I check my list, I always assess the whole list before choosing what to do. I never pick the next thing chronologically. I always chose what is most important to me at the specific point in time.

Working through my lists chronologically would never have put me in the place I am today. 

And yes, I am where I want to be.

//jan

TED Talk by Dan Pink

This is just an amazing talk. Dan literally states his case on motivation and brings in a number of points that ultimately and efficiently deconstruct the management practices in many many businesses.

//jan 

A good laugh from this clip!

//jan