Lesley Crane
I am an independent Learning and Development specialist, consultant and author, with a PhD, an MA and a BSc Hons. Always looking for interesting professional challenges.
Location Lincolnshire, England
Activity
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@Marcus - now there's an interesting question !
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I agree with you Marcus. Only, perhaps its about sharing the 'world' not just the digital world. Arguably, the digital world is becoming 'the world' and to prevent, inhibit or otherwise deny access to this world is to disenfranchise the individual. I would also add that in engaging with the digital world perhaps we should also accept a duty of care - not just...
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Lesley Crane made a comment
A good PM adopts an 'in the trenches approach' by figuratively moving their desk to the scene of the action. The PM is a member of the team and should not stay remote and 'managerial'.
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Lesley Crane made a comment
My project? Designing and building a new database in which I can hold detailed information, notes and commentaries on books and journals that I have read, or which I will read in the future, with a good search protocol and a consistent use of keywords.
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Fair comment, but often what these quizzes are about is to get you to think clearly about the wording and meaning that is used which can sometimes confuse or mislead. It was easy but it also acted as a minor bit of reinforcement in getting me to marshall my thoughts into a semblance of clarity. Not easy!
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Lesley Crane made a comment
A good overview. I would argue that it is actually important to determine what the success factors are at the Project Initiation, and from these KPIs can be developed and agreed - if necessary.
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Lesley Crane made a comment
Just wondered if there is not an argument which would suggest that 'resource' and 'technology' ought to be seen as constraints in their own right? Yes, these are influenced and mediated / mitigated by scope/cost/time but their influence is such that their unique complexities and impact on PM may be better understood if approached as phenomena in their own right.
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Lesley Crane made a comment
Sounds like a fascinating week. My eyebrow is elevating! Onwards!
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Hi - Tried again, but it still didn't work. So I tried something else - I changed browser. I had been using Microsoft Edge (rubbish!) so changed to Google Chrome - the app loaded in nano-speed and the 'Show' icon worked immediately. So, probably not an issue with being overloaded. Just suits some browsers better than others. LOL.
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I am also using the Lite version, When I click on the 'Show' button, I do not get an options box, so I am unable to go further with this exercise. I do not know why! Frustration!
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Lesley Crane replied to Lesley Crane
You make an interesting point. How long does an 'innovation' need to be in existence and functioning before it is labelled as one thing or another? Personally, and as I've noted elsewhere, I am not sure that thinking about innovation in terms of levels and so on is particularly helpful to the would-be innovation practitioner. The one advantage that it does...
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Lesley Crane replied to Lesley Crane
Does the inventor or the innovation manager or the company or CEO come into work one morning and decide that 'today I am going to concentrate on product incremental innovation'? No. such labels are only useful to students of innovation to better assist in talking about the subject - and it gives the teachers something around which to ask questions. They are...
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Lesley Crane replied to Barry Hill
Are you telling me that water doesn't have a memory! I am shocked. Even more gullible are the millions who buy bottled water when the stuff that comes out of their taps is perfectly fine. And the bottled stuff notoriously contains far higher levels of contaminant and crypto! Now that's innovative marketing!
Agree with you entirely about ethics and morals....
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Lesley Crane replied to Martin Beeler
I am not sure that something needs to be profitable in order to be seen as innovative. If by profitable you mean financially beneficial. Something can be innovative without directly or explicitly affecting the profitability of a business. An innovative approach to stakeholder management for instance. Profit is no longer the sole nor top concern of the average...
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Lesley Crane replied to Lesley Crane
Well done Riccardo - that's a useful list of examples. I've come across several slightly different definitions of these so-called levels of innovation. Interestingly, Christensen, who first popularised disruptive innovation, categorised Apple's iPhone as incremental or sustaining innovation and so according to his theory, it should have failed!
Incremental ...
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Lesley Crane made a comment
Aha! I spoke too soon in the earlier comments. But I still don't think of this as 'levels of innovation'. That suggests a hierarchy. I'm not sure but that isn't too simplistic idea?
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Lesley Crane made a comment
When I talk about types of innovation, I usually refer to incremental or improbibalistic innovation at one end of the continuum and radical or disruptive or improbibalistic innovation at the other. I think it more useful to think in terms of innovation outcomes rather than the subject of the innovation (e.g. Product). Just an observation.
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Lesley Crane replied to Charlie RUDD
So true.
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Lesley Crane made a comment
Very good video and very succinct. The difference, particularly between innovation and creativity is often confused. I have always thought of innovation as the application of creativity. As such it is about more than creative thinking - it is about implementing this in a sustainable way and ensuring that business process, system and culture are supportive of...
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Lesley Crane made a comment
I am gobsmacked that 'e-learning' is no. 25 on the list. As one of the early pioneer e-learning developers in the late 1980s that makes me an innovator! I don't think so!
I was going to choose the steam engine. Apparently it was in fact originally invented during the closing decades of the Roman Empire, but was rejected at the time. If this story is true,...
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Lesley Crane replied to Lesley Crane
How fascinating. Sounds like a book that I need to read!
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Lesley Crane made a comment
If innovation is about bringing about a dramatic change to people's lives, the way we are able to live, experience the world and so on, what is the greatest innovation of all time? That's a really interesting question - and incredibly difficult to answer. We will all have our own ideas and perspectives. Does innovation have to be a 'thing'? What about a human...
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Lesley Crane made a comment
Well, this is the first Future Learn course I've done where I've found myself making the first comment! In the hope and expectation that other learners join this course.....I'm fascinated by innovation as a human activity in a business context. I work as an innovation consultant and coach. I hope to pick up some useful learnings, material and fresh...
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Thank you Joshua - that all makes sense now. Patterns and trends I understand!
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Lesley Crane made a comment
I have really enjoyed this course - it's stretched my thinking in a number of areas and opened up some new avenues for future development. That is in no small part due to all you guys - you've shared some really exceptional ideas and perspectives. Thank you!
Onto the next one!
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Lesley Crane replied to José Correia
Make your own!
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Lesley Crane made a comment
According to Alex Espenson ("Connecting the Internet of Things, BPM and the Human element", 2015, www,business.com), whilst the IoT has the potential to 'transform everything', there is one big challenge to achieving this - achieving the means of 'connecting the dots'. He argues that BPM(E) has the means of identifying those 'touchpoints' where they can...
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Lesley Crane made a comment
I am not sure that I follow this. Are these 'artefacts' used to model the business process with a view to identifying potential problems, or are they used to monitor to ensure they comply with the objectives of the re-design/implementation stage? Both seem to be implied here.
Also, what are 'process mining methods'????
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Lesley Crane made a comment
It seems blindingly obvious to me that you should identify and fix issues first (ie complete the re-design phase) before attempting any automation. To do otherwise would be like buying the appliances for a kitchen before you've measured up!
Like many I've seen plenty of disastrous results in all sorts of businesses and their products and services. Are these...
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No worries. Course delivered. Big success!
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So how could this have been predicted and prevented? What it shows is that HR was not aware of the dependency of other department on the consequence of its actions. And vice versa. Was the onus on HR to determine the impact of their proposed changes long before these came into effect? Or was it that these proposed changes were sensitive enough to require being...
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Lesley Crane replied to Nick Lutz
That is the idea that I have in mind. It may not necessarily be the one that conventional BPM has in mind. But I suspect that the whole approach to automation is somewhat open to individual interpretation, depending on the context you work within. As it should be!
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Lesley Crane made a comment
In the example, what strikes me is that the whole linear chain of events is really kicked off by the single person who makes the decision over what to prioritise - so, what if they make a poor judgement? It also looks like adding into the existing system a new layer of IT - the BPMS. We have seen thousands of examples of where this type of system can go wrong...
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Lesley Crane replied to Nick Lutz
I think it can be understood as being the task of implementing, enhancing or otherwise improving interoperability between all resources in a process, and between processes (human or otherwise) such that the transactional outcomes may be streamlined and perform to a more consistent quality. It is easier understood if you think about the individual IT systems...
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But you have to be careful, I think, not to risk diluting the strength of the methodology by looking in too many directions. I think you are right that we need to cover lots of bases - but with a clear purpose and focus in mind. Challenge rather than vision!
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Well said Damian! Michael, I have been involved in FE for years (another soapbox of mine). Yes, the sector is going through difficult times and changes but do you know what? The people I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with in FE are an inspiration. They are amongst the hardest working and most dedicated people I have met. Despite the endless...
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Lesley Crane made a comment
The idea of even thinking about having the aim of replacing people with technology is a very old fashioned one! This is what led to near disaster in the 1980s and early 1990s when reverse engineering quite literally 'threw the baby out with the bath water'. It should be remembered that people have enormous and often irreplaceable stores of knowledge about a...
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Lesley Crane made a comment
I wonder if it would be considered to be illogical or conflicting to approach all processes from the perspective of both inward and outward perspectives? You probably need to have a 360 view anyway, and I also would have thought that no matter what approach you take, you should always consider the process within the context in which it is situated. I see...
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Lesley Crane replied to Barry Farnworth
That's, of course, assuming that you are able to correctly identity the problem in the first place!
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Lesley Crane replied to Nick Lutz
These are good points Nick. Thanks for sharing.
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Lesley Crane made a comment
Disruptive innovation is about discontinuously changing the way a business functions - its goals, policies, etc - and the way that the value chain traditionally works. It is about creating wholly new markets in which competition does not exist (yet) and therefore competition is irrelevant. Uber, AirBnB, Amazon are all examples. They force the incumbents to...
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Lesley Crane replied to Jonathan Brown
Also a demonstration of how BT is failing badly in the innovation stakes, and is clearly run by a management with its feet stuck in the last century. Just look at their woeful progress in getting UK hooked up to super fast broadband!
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Lesley Crane replied to Nick Lutz
Interestingly, when Apple first brought out its iPhone, Clayton Christensen (the guru behind the popularised 'disruptive innovation' theory) predicted that it would fail (according to his theory!). Since then, I would argue that Apple have been applying what is known as incremental innovation - that is, improvements to existing technology products, rather than...
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Lesley Crane made a comment
The Utterback-Abernathy Phase Model is very like the 'S Curve' used in Innovation practice. The difference is that the U-A model compares product innovation with process innovation, predicting that improvements to a firm's process will result in more innovative products. Which is possible.
I am not convinced that Amazon is a good example to use here...
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Thank you. My fingers are rapped.
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Probably all of that!
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Lesley Crane made a comment
I find that the hardest thing is to write or speak about what I do.
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Lesley Crane made a comment
I'm Dr Lesley Crane. Very pleased to meet you! I'm an expert in organisational learning, knowledge and innovation. It's my pleasure to help businesses discover and leverage the benefits and power of effective strategies and practices in these critical areas with the aim of aspiring to and gaining ever higher levels of business success.
How does that sound?...
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Lesley Crane replied to Lesley Crane
Depends on the management!
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Lesley Crane made a comment
Very interesting. I've enjoyed this so far, and feel that I have learned a great deal. It would be fantastic to have the opportunity of working with some colleagues here on a real BPM project!
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Lesley Crane made a comment
From my professional perspective, BPM looks like offering major benefit in terms of assessing and analysing a business' readiness for innovation practice. It can also be used to discover and render transparent how well (or not) a business' process, systems, orthodoxies, and so on facilitate a culture of innovation. I look forward to an early opportunity to try...
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Lesley Crane replied to Izeta Tanovic
I was thinking along the same lines. It provides the means by which one can discover and make transparent how things work in a business so that they can be improved. It also helps us to understand and see correlations between contingencies, conflicts, tensions and so on, as well as the positive things (what does work well)!
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Lesley Crane replied to Nick Lutz
I like the creation of a sense of ownership. That is quite a major asset when searching for ways to improve performance and productivity.
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Lesley Crane replied to Lesley Crane
Sounds like an excellent way of approaching things when you put it like that.
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Lesley Crane replied to Lesley Crane
Good point Andrew - I totally agree with this.
Nick - is it not risky to weed out what does not work etc at such a conceptual stage of the game? What if by weeding out what we might think is non value-adding turns out to impact on something else further down the line? Everything is, after all, relational is it not?
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Does not 'account set up' facilitate all of the actions that follow, and that without this being done, the system would not function well? Or at the very most, it would function at a far slower rate? I would also argue that 'making the offer' is potentially both a BVA and a VA because it is necessary for the University in order to create the potential of...
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Lesley Crane made a comment
I wonder if there is an example of a non value-adding step that isn't about correcting errors, or omissions, or faulty goods, for instance? In other words, the step doesn't add value from the customer's or business' point of view, but it is none-the-less useful? It just doesn't add 'value' in the sense which is meant here. An afternoon nap at work, for instance.
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Isn't that what we used to refer to as 'job's worth'?
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Lesley Crane made a comment
Why do you think it's necessary to categories process steps into 'value-adding' and 'business value-adding'? What about those steps in a process which can be categorised as both - value-adding from both the customer's point of view and also that of the business itself?
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Thanks Laura
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Lesley Crane replied to Shasha Liu
Well said. A valuable point. And it cannot be assumed that the entrepreneur is good at all of these role all of the time!
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Lesley Crane made a comment
I think this makes it all nice and simple. From the perspective of the customer, I am not interested in all of the steps that are required to be taken in order for me to receive what I want in an acceptable timescale and in a state that is also acceptable. Nothing else is important to me! Sooooo - in assessing for Value-Added steps, I guess we are looking for...
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Lesley Crane made a comment
I wonder if it is important to suspend judgement when doing this process. I mean that when doing VA analysis and decomposing tasks, one is labelling them as 'value adding' or not. Perhaps an open mind ought to be kept here: you might categorise a task or series of steps as being 'not value adding', but that doesn't mean that they are not useful to the...
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Lesley Crane replied to Kelly Myles
Yes it's memorable and succinctly demonstrates the entire concept! Although as he introduced this 'metaphor', my mind started to rattle through all of the ways that you might stuff an elephant into a refrigerator! Which wasn't very pleasant!
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Good point, Carol, about the downloadable images. You often can't see these clearly because they are partially obscured by the on-screen sub-titles. Did nobody in the video / web production check this? Sounds like an ISSUE to me!
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Lesley Crane made a comment
In my previous company, we used an issue register (well, we didn't call it that!) to record problems and anomalies in the functionality of software that we were developing. First stage was to map functionality in the as-is software to the original agreed client specification. Second stage was to determine a methodology and structure for robust testing, and...
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My one is very similar to yours! As someone obsessed with detail, I have added in a few more steps!
1. Identify need or want
2. Search Google
3. Evaluate search results.
4. Select 2 or more product sources and compare offers
5. Select preferred
6. Sign in/ create account
7. Select item (add to Cart)
8. Click to Cart and Select Pay
9. Confirm... -
Lesley Crane replied to Lesley Crane
Terry also makes an interesting point here - that the mere existence of a bunch of 'personality' labels is enough to get people thinking about their own personalities and values, those of others, and to engage in a debate around the subject. Could be a useful topic to use when trying to network with new people!
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Lesley Crane made a comment
What strikes me here is that so many fellow learners opt for multiple 'roles'. That suggests to me that labelling and categorising people into boxes is not a particularly useful exercise. People adapt to the contexts in which they find themselves from moment to moment. They are not the product of an enduring and stable bunch of labels. That is my view anyhow....
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Lesley Crane made a comment
I have worked hard to overcome confidence issues, and to ensure that I prepare as much as possible in advance of events but my networking is not very successful in terms of what happens after the event.
I have been given the opportunity to speak at a fairly important national conference attended by senior people. I am obviously working hard on my speech to...
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Lesley Crane made a comment
I imagine that the essence of a good and useful network is that it is based on a shared or common interest /goal and trust. Trying to build a network purely with the aim of generating employment opportunities does not seem to work, in my experience. But the caveat here is being good at it! Which I am not.
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Already spotted this opportunity and I shall look forward to joining this.
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Lesley Crane replied to Brian Hunt
@Marcello La Rosa, agreed. Which is why I am inspired to think of BPM as a brilliant tool and methodology for analysing and evaluating organisational innovation practices!
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Lesley Crane replied to Brian Hunt
Please don't always blame the consultants! I hear this so often: 'it's the vendors' fault!'. It things go wrong it is the fault of the buyer and no one else. I think that the reason for poor outcomes, particularly in IT system procurement and implementation, is two-fold. First, there is this (really quite silly) imperative to seek rapid solutions before the...
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Lesley Crane replied to Alison Armstrong
How about 'Student' card - each student gets one on enrollment as their personal ID? Students probably also need to be provided with Health & Safety information, Guide to University facilities, Information about accommodation. Thanks Alison!
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Lesley Crane made a comment
The one aspect of the discovery process (otherwise an excellent explanation) that is missing is validating and validating the integrity of the data on which the model's build is based. We are told that the data to build a model is 'extracted' from staff (sounds painful!) and resources. But how this is done - the methodology to be used - is not explained. If...
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Lesley Crane replied to Lesley Crane
Yes I do. Communications skill is one. But that in itself is not enough. It's actually quite complex I think. Empathy, honesty. What I do know is that simply being knowledgable and qualified counts for nothing. I hope to learn how to do it well!
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Lesley Crane made a comment
Is it the case that to be effective, networking has to be pretty focused? You can post articles on Linked In but that is no guarantee of any tangible benefit.
I believe that trust is very much dependent on 'social proximity' which means networking online is particularly challenging.
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Lesley Crane made a comment
Hi. Networking is a skill that I am woefully deficient in so I am very much looking forward to learning how to harness these mysterious arts! Nowadays if you can't network effectively it is probably tantamount to not being able to speak!
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Lesley Crane made a comment
The processes that I would identify for particular scrutiny are:
1. The process of communicating with existing and potential customers (how is it currently done, to what effect, what are the weaknesses, what more could be done) leading to a 'to be' process which is designed to significantly improve targeting, raising awareness, and generating positive...
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Lesley Crane made a comment
I think the most important element of the recipe that is introduced here is that BPM seeks to identify how the organization works "from the viewpoint of its constituent business processes'. That is an extremely important point. For me, it changes the entire perception of what BPM is about. Does this mean that BPM could be described as a 'bottom-up' management...
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No need to feel confused! I think you raise some very valid points. Question: can a 'project' (as you say, an activity with a clearly defined start and end) not also be a process? Does a process necessarily have to be evolutionary and never-ending? Does a process not also need some kind of end-point, even if it is transitory or only for the purposes of...
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Actually Guy - I am giving an innovation education course next week Your company sounds like a good working example of one of the themes that I will be discussing. Could we connect outside of this forum please? You can contact me via www.knowing-how.com.
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Sounds like a company worth studying, a Guy. Thanks for sharing!
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Sounds like a very good company, Guy. I particularly like the idea of the 'kaizen sensei' (never heard this term before). Have you thought of training staff in the skills of innovative thinking?
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Lesley Crane replied to Lesley Crane
Not at all, Angela. The HR function is entirely dependent on the values and management structure of the organisation (not necessarily in that order) and to no small degree on the calibre, expertise and values of the HR professional. An ideal HR professional, in my opinion - which is only an opinion - is someone who prioritises the development and well-being of...
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Lesley Crane replied to Lesley Crane
We are two minds, then. I am developing what will be an interesting concept around the application of BPM and innovation culture. SMEs are very much the focus!
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Barry - sounds like a company in the defence sector! I have long experience of dealing with just such organisations. There is an assumption that these types of orgs must work as smoothly integrated systems in the conventional sense. There are workable and successful alternatives to this - which are not at all inconsistent with the BPM model.
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Lesley Crane made a comment
This all sounds remarkably like TQM and Prince Project Management. Nothing wrong in that. But in such a management architecture I would like to see the explicit involvement and role for Human Resources. BPM is theoretically about designing, implementing and sustaining a programme of change. That should necessarily and visibly involve the HR function. In my...
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Lesley Crane replied to Lesley Crane
Hi John, I admire your faith in good sense always prevailing! It is also true that many companies are not well nor efficiently managed perhaps particularly amongst SMEs. Perhaps BPM is better focuses on those types of company?
Your argument rests, I think, on the premise that market demands will always lead to equilibrium in a given society. That's an...
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Sounds like there's room for a few evangelists. Thank you for sharing your perspectives. It's valuable to hear such honest insights. I do find it very frustrating myself when I see such (I am being polite here!) foolishness and short-sightedness amongst so-called business leaders. Glad I'm not the only one. We should persevere with this course as we may see...
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Lesley Crane made a comment
I think there is an assumption being made here - that we all share a common understanding of what 'transparency' actually is. Reading some of the (excellent) comments here, I get the impression that we have a slightly different perception. Is that important?
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Good points, Danny. Re the main issue: is this your experience, that execs are not interested in the detail, but only the headlines and the conclusion? That would explain a lot. It seems that all of the vast amount of books, articles, research, training programs and the like designed to produce good, well-balanced and strongly focused leaders is not having...
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Lesley Crane made a comment
Interestingly, it is regarded as a hallmark of the innovative / disruptive enterprise that they DON'T make trade offs between, for instance, quality and cost. They're obviously not using BPM!
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Lesley Crane made a comment
Other equally important values for the modern organization:
Social (impact, community, responsibility, environment)
People (employees - personal development, self-fulfillment, well-being, satisfaction, pride)
Innovation (continuous, whole organization aspiration)
Honest.And as someone earlier very rightly suggested, Accountability. The latter being...
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Lesley Crane made a comment
So, the argument so far. BPM is a practice which is concerned with examining and rendering transparent the various processes which constitute the organization, and it principally does this by focusing on the relationships between the various elements of the organization and how they interact and relate. A first observation: organizations are complex systems of...
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It's not just that they gravitate towards what they want to hear. They are biased to information, data, events, communications - anything - which supports their theory of the world. They will, sometimes unconsciously, ignore that which does not support their theory of the world. People, in other words, are profoundly biased! It is actually quite difficult to...
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Lesley Crane made a comment
Been there, seen it, got the T-shirt! One observation: business transparency is, I think, important not just as the starting point but as an ongoing business value. Transparency needs to be worked at continuously as it can become obscured as the business changes and evolves.
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Lesley Crane replied to Brian Hunt
I agree with all your points. The whole process is essentially far too onerous and administration-heavy. It is also incredibly reliant on accurate communications (and appropriate interpretations) being passed from pillar to post. It is symptomatic of an administrator sitting in their office one day and designing a bunch of flow chart boxes with no real thought...
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Another major issue with implementing large scale IT projects (only around 33% of those commissioned by the UK government actually deliver and work - after a fashion) is that people are not trained in how to use them, they are not persuaded why the system is needed, and what it will mean for them. They have, in other words, zero confidence. I love technology -...
