Writing about Flying and Learning

Who Needs Leaders? Play the chaos game with a group of people (see Complex Adaptive Leadership (Obolensky, 2014) Chapter 6, or watch the above video. Create a reflection blog on what this exercise meant to you and how it impacts your understanding of chaos theory; include the implications that this has on strategy. The title of this assignment is very Monty Python-esque – Who Needs Leaders? We Don’t!   So, what do we do next?   The exercise demonstrated by Obolensky was a great visual analog to how the activity of business operations may seem chaotic, but in the end, a result is achieved.   And it’s achieved without direct control over every movement.   A few items come to mind upon reflecting on this display.   Will/Skill are needed.   Although relatively simple directions were given, employee skill and effort are compulsory to actually execute a plan.   As Obolensky (2014) states, employee will/skill is often g...

Blog A633.4.3 Reflecting on the previous exercise and this week's readings, why do you think the shift in leadership is occurring and do you think this is indicative of what is happening in your organization.  List three reasons that support or refute this position. If so, how would leadership dynamics have to be altered to accommodate and promote these types of changes? What are the implications on strategy?   The shift in leadership attributes may be attributed to vast amount of information/data/strategy that potentially occupies a leader’s scope or work statement.   As such, the outmoded idea of leadership as being an “expert in all fields” in such a rapidly changing environment may be too challenging for even the brightest and most talented.    Instead, there’s a recognition that leadership in the current environment requires quick learning and an ability to synthesize vast information into coherent strategy and execution.   As such, ...

Find a company which reflects Morning Star and St Luke’s image of a Complex Adaptive System (CAS) and reflect in your blog what the implications are for you and your present organization (or any organization you are familiar with). Identify what you believe are appropriate actions to move your organization forward. Watch this Martin-Reeves Video and discuss the implications of strategy on your organization.  Why strategy, why now, and how could this discussion positively impact your organization? The title of the presentation reminds me of the song Just Dropped In (To See what Condition my Condition was in).   I ended up answering the second blog assignment first.   In there, one will find some remarks as to the reasons my current employer has taken its present path on strategic development.   Reeves (2014) reminds his audience that at the end of the day, one cannot lose sight of the end goal, or in other words the product or service, that the strateg...

Blog A633 3.4 – Reflect on your own organization's strategy or an organization that is familiar to you.  How has it evolved over time? Discuss each stage of development and how feedback and strategy formulation have changed over time. Consider the next steps in your company's evolution and describe what it will look like in 10 years and where you will be. I have begun to see a shift with Boeing Training & Professional Service, ever so slightly, in terms of feedback influencing strategy formulation.   While there’s general acknowledgement and agreement that we “need to be nimble” and “evolve”, the structure and mindset of leadership is not always in alignment or receptive to such demands.   Based upon Obolensky (2014), Boeing is still finishing it’s conversion into a cross-functional matrix from the functional silo’s model.   However some smaller or specialized groups remain in a silo structure due to specialized or classified nature of the work ...

Based on this week's reading, reflect on complexity science and theory in organizations and the butterfly effect (Obolensky, p.66).  Identify 2 examples where “small changes yield large results” in your organization. What are the implications of complexity theory for you and your organization and how can you use this to drive improvements? The two decisions that yielded large results were the moving of simulators from Seattle to Miami and the decision not to roll-out a new software program before it was ready for use. Oblensky (2011) states that small changes can yield large results.   The moving of ten full flight simulators may not be considered a “small change”, but it was to Boeing in the overall view of aircraft production and sales.   In this case, while the terms small and large may be relative, the results of these changes are still felt today.   This may expand the term of large to include length of time.       The move...