I guess what I have been doing these past related blogs from A Defence Capability Framework (01) through to the A Defence Capability Framework (07) - A Summary, and in the series called Organisational Program Framework (01) through to Organisational Program Framework (03), is illustrating a high level enterprise architecture for organisational change, and in the Defence context - Defence change. I hinted at this in A Defence Capability Framework (07) - A Summary. ....read more

To complete this series of blogs from A Defence Capability Framework (01) to A Defence Capability Framework (06) - Looking Vertically, I intend to just run a broad brush over the status of some of the knowledge sectors within the framework (as I see it), because it isn't all a nice, neat complete set. It has numerous holes and shortcomings in it, which I suspect is not unusual for any organisation, government of private. Additionally, I wish to highlight some of the broader issues and challenges that need to be addressed. ....read more

Pacelli, L., The Project Management Advisor. 18 Major Project Screw Ups, and How to Cut Them Off at the Pass, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River NJ, USA, 2004

I bought this book off the web and I couldn't "look inside" so I didn't really know what I was getting. I was surprised to see it was a fairly small book in terms of pages. But the size belies its value I suspect.

Lonnie Pacelli has put together a tight little package of wisdom, based it would seem on many of his experiences at Accenture and later Microsoft Corporation. He has 18 "screw ups" to share. ....read more

In this blog, I wish to illustrate the vertical dimensions in the broad architecture I have been explaining in the last five blogs on a Defence Capability Framework - (01) to (05). Why is this "vertical" dimension so important? Well, if you are able to navigate or trace up and down within the same dimension (requirement, solution or process), then you get a very real insight into the whole "architecture" of the organisation, in this case the Australian Department of Defence. ....read more

Along with Donna Cox of Mantra Training and Development, I attended the Canberra Business Council (CBC) (of which HolisTech® is a Corporate Member) and Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) luncheon. Apart from doing a little networking (not that I am good at that), we listened to an interesting presentation by Dr Michael Schaper, the Deputy Chairperson of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). It was titled Small Business - Future Opportunities & Challenges.  ....read more

It has been a while since I blogged. I have been a bit busy with a few things, among them a proposal for one of our other business interests - Mantra Training and Development - a Registered Training Organisation (RTO). So, just to provide a little context, this blog is a continuation of the "Defence Capability Framework" series. The last two were on the Operational level and the Strategic level. This one has a focus on the System level within the Australian Defence context.  ....read more

Canberra is a small city of some 300,000+ without a significant performance venue, apart from outdoor venues including the football stadium (Canberra Stadium). So because it is so small and because we have limited venues, we often miss out on the big entertainment tours. I am pleased to say though that Cirque du Soleil is currently in Canberra in their Big Top on the side of Lake Burley Griffin near the National Library of Australia and Questacon (Australia's National Science & Technology Centre).

Johansson, F., The Medici Effect: Breakthrough insights at the Intersection of Ideas, Concepts and Cultures, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, 2004

Johansson has produced an interesting story here. It's interesting because it is provides a thesis (perhaps the wrong word) on how and perhaps why, innovation occurs or why some people are able to gain breakthrough insights and others not. It's not an academic text, but it does have a "folksy" type of appeal with its stories and approach, which kind of makes me feel that it doesn't have that "robustness" to make it a real solid contribution, although I also suspect many will find it useful. It is all a bit lightweight and has a "guru" type feel to it that always makes me a bit suspicious of the validity of some of the insights.

The operational level is much more defined than the strategic level. But ...there is limited use of the concept of FIC (Fundamentals Inputs to Capability) in the capability context (I will explain FIC later). FIC is used mainly in the "preparedness" context. Which is a shame really, because the data actually exists, it just isn't used, yet it could be so useful in the capability development context.  ....read more

The strategic level is a bit of an enigma in the Defence environment. The strategic terminologies are used frequently and there is much discussion around strategic subjects and many presentations made. But .....there is rarely a sort of "rubber on the road" approach where the end result of all those discussions and papers and presentations is placed into a database to evolve as the Defence Force evolves. I capture some of these issues below.