censemaking

[censemaking]

Foresight is one of the features of strategic design that sets it apart from traditional plans, by helping you envision futures and the systems needed to get you there. #strategicdesign #foresight #systemsthinking

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How do we connect systems thinking with our intentions? Strategic design is the means to connect where we're sailing to, our journey and where we dock and this is where we connect it together. #strategicdesign #systemsthinking

[censemaking]

Strategy brings a strong return on investment. Here is what a well-executed strategic plan can bring you and why it's worth the investment to do it right. #strategicdesign #strategy #designthinking

[censemaking]

What does strategic design look like? It's about connecting intention, imagination, production and learning using systems thinking to achieve sustained change. In this article, we look at what this looks like. #strategicdesign #healthinnovation #systemsthinking

[censemaking]

Strategic design will always require leadership to translate ideas, inspiration and strategy into action. In complex conditions, this means setting a leadership course that involves humility, agility, and curiosity. #strategicdesign #leadership #healthinnovation #complexity

[censemaking]

Weak signals are those patterns that emerge when we allow ourselves to see beyond the obvious. This is a critical component in developing a strategy for complexity and uncertainty. Is that where you are? Take the blindfold off and start seeing complexity differently. #strategicdesign #complexity

[censemaking]

Strategy making is the intentional way of charting your ship across the seas of complexity and arriving safe and sound. In this latest in the Censemaking summer series, I take a closer look at the strategy and the return on investment it brings #strategicdesign #complexity #innovation

[censemaking]

The metaphor of sailing is a way to articulate what strategy is (and what it isn't). Complexity requires us to explore strategy and navigate it differently than with mechanical systems. In this post, we look at what strategic design and leadership for complexity looks like.

[censemaking]

If you're looking to make sense of complexity, we've got a reflective practice exercise for you that can get you started and on to strategic design. #strategicdesign #complexity #healthinnovation

[censemaking]

What are some practical ways to address complexity? In this second post in our Summer Series, we look at the metaphor of navigation and how it applies to complexity and taking strategic action, by design.

[censemaking]

Dealing with complexity first means knowing what it is. In this first post in the 2025 Summer Series dealing with all we're dealing with, I begin with a look at complexity.

[censemaking]

Is it time to retire the term systems change? It might be worth considering. Just look at a butterfly and we might see a new idea take flight.

[censemaking]

Design, Systems and The Settings That Influence Us

Space shapes systems, so systems change requires we understand space. In this post, I’m going to use two contexts to illustrate why and how settings affect so much of our lives and why any systems change must account for them if we are to be successful. Take two examples: education, and healthcare. In an educational context, the setting might be the classroom. In both cases, consider the…

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Developmental Evaluation and Strategy

When undertaking strategic planning for organizations operating in the complex space of health and human services, how do you account for creating meaningful ways to learn and adapt? Developmental Evaluation is how. Developmental Evaluation is a means to provide evaluative insight to guide the evolution of your program, but did you know it can be a tool within a strategic planning framework? By…

[censemaking]

Rhinoceros In The Wild: System Models and Reality

Most of us have not seen a rhinoceros in the wild. We might have seen a rhino at the zoo and maybe on television. Only a few of us who live outside Africa have been fortunate enought to see one of these beautiful creatures in its natural habitat. Imagine we’d never seen a rhinoceros in any form? Dürer’s Rhinoceros is an example of what we get if we have good information without sightlines on the…

[censemaking]

On this Earth Day, consider how we can create a healthier planet through leadership within healthcare. We are perfectly positioned to lead for health and for enviornmental innovation and impact by considering how we can integrate the mission of our work in planet-healthy ways.

[censemaking]

Developmental Evaluation and Strategy

When undertaking strategic planning for organizations operating in the complex space of health and human services, how do you account for creating meaningful ways to learn and adapt? Developmental Evaluation is how. Developmental Evaluation is a means to provide evaluative insight to guide the evolution of your program, but did you know it can be a tool within a strategic planning framework? By…