Resources & Definitions: a helping hand

Explanation of some terminology with guidance towards further resources.

• What is a small group?

  A small group could be defined as a small number of people (usually 4 - 12 people) that meets deliberately and regularly for relationship building and some other purpose. There is a deliberately human...

• What is a framework or "change model" to help support a way forward?

  There is no single solution that works uniformally; no six steps to success model on offer. We can't use fixed tools and processes for system change in a complex environment (see: What is the differen...

• What are some good resources (books) that cover particular topics within 21st Century Org thinking?

  We must take personal responsibility for our personal mastery, and books are a good place to start. All the disciplines covered under this article are broadly covered across the FAQs what are some goo...

• What is "command-and-control" management?

  Command-and-control is the phrase informally used to describe the status quo style of leadership that exists within modern organisations: it emerges from the predict-and-control worldview (see: What i...

• What are some good resources (books) covering a single case study?

  We must take personal responsibility for our personal mastery, and books are a good place to start. These are books are built around a particular case study scenario. There are also articles on What a...

• What are some good resources (books) covering the theory of change with a range of case studies?

  We must take personal responsibility for our personal mastery, and books are a good place to start. These books contain a summary of the theory of change - why it's necessary and why now - and use a v...

• What is "management ideology"?

  The “ideology of management” is a perspective. It is a worldview that underpins a particular approach to how organisations should be structured and operated. It’s not necessarily consciously “chosen”;...

• What is "management-by-objectives"?

  Management by Objectives is a tool used to implement the strategic decisions of leadership in a hierarchical structure. Once a strategic decision is set, aligned objectives are then put in place acros...

• What is "predict-and-control"?

  Predict-and-control is the ideology that believes in looking forward, predicting outcomes and then building control based systems to make those predictions a reality. There are two inherent assumption...

• What are "mental models"?

  Mental models are the deeply held assumptions that guide our understanding and action. When you meet someone, you quickly make a series of judgements based on simple information, such as what they loo...