The Vanguard Method

Going beyond command and control management

[John Seddon @JohnWSeddon]

Preparing for a seminar hosted by Mike Jackson, preeminent systems thinker. He suggested students watch A Brief History of the Vanguard Method to warm up. Had to watch it myself – had forgotten doing it. And I recommend it to anyone interested:
https://t.co/xRYe4iKuqT

[John Seddon @JohnWSeddon]

Mike Jackson, preeminent academic, systems thinking, sent me a note: “…love what you say in your recent newsletter about complexity theorists!” It is a reaction to the #HumanLearningSystems ‘guidance’. My occasional newsletter here:
https://t.co/pm5SjpX0wr

[John Seddon @JohnWSeddon]

Vanguard would offer systems conveners a P45. It is the job of leaders to change the system. Can't be delegated.

[John Seddon @JohnWSeddon]

Noooo... it ain't about participation, it's about knowing that to study to reveal the flaws in the current system and open the eyes to the scope for improvement. Nothing wrong with HLS ambitions. Just no useful method.

[John Seddon @JohnWSeddon]

What’s missing from #HumanLearningSystems? Guidance on what to study and how to study it. Change to people-centred services requires a change to the system, it is a normative shift. Nothing in HLS guidance helps with that.

[John Seddon @JohnWSeddon]

I resolved to avoid argument on Twitter – it is not a medium that is conducive to constructive debate between people with different mental models. But #HumanLearningSystems arrived in my feed. It purports to be a systems approach to health and care systems. Oh dear. More later.

[John Seddon @JohnWSeddon]

I doubt #HumanLearningSystems will achieve its (worthy) ambitions. Our health and care services are not complex systems, they are unnecessarily complicated systems. Improving them requires removing the causes. This won’t be achieved by the means offered in HLS.

[John Seddon @JohnWSeddon]

I stand corrected. But it is true to say that having presented evidence on (a) reasons for costly policy failure and (b) profound results from better service designs, both counted for nothing as they didn't fit the political narrative.

[John Seddon @JohnWSeddon]

ZBB is, simply, start with nothing. Then guesswork and conjecture. The way we've been working with 'money' is: distinguish between money spent that is of value to service users and, then, money spent on everything else. Need to know what matters to user (as you would!)

[John Seddon @JohnWSeddon]

@ExeterCouncil @ExeterCX @KensingtonRoyal Congratulations!

[John Seddon @JohnWSeddon]

I told @Jeremy_Hunt that the problem with the NHS is lack of continuity. To provide it we need to change the system. He agreed with the problem but said IT would fix it. Didn’t did it? Now he talks of changing the system, but what does he mean?

[John Seddon @JohnWSeddon]

A target is an arbitrary measure driven down a hierarchy. If measures related to purpose are used where the work is done to understand and improve the work they aren't gamed. Such measures are actual, not arbitrary.

[John Seddon @JohnWSeddon]

The key issue is measures must relate to purpose. All command-and-control measures don't. Hence they drive things in the wrong direction.

[John Seddon @JohnWSeddon]

HMG is reported to be spending £3m a day storing PPE. Should have gone to @stockrightnow

[John Seddon @JohnWSeddon]

Consumer Duty shifts the locus of control from the regulator to the regulated. Herewith a method for compliance that is fast, low-cost, knowledge-based and will strengthen competitive position. https://t.co/cCMcW2q5SY

[John Seddon @JohnWSeddon]

See this:
https://t.co/4xpRM7XD19

[John Seddon @JohnWSeddon]

More here: https://t.co/sXoSg0S3kL

[John Seddon @JohnWSeddon]

Beyond Command and Control: a four-day programme

Get the basics of the Vanguard Method. This four-day course takes leaders who are systems thinking beginners straight into the work to learn about sub-optimisation in their organisation and how to remove it.

[John Seddon @JohnWSeddon]

#ConsumerDuty, the new regulations for financial services, impress me – radically different and ought to be studied by all regulators. I submitted comments to the FCA consultation. Read them here:
https://t.co/uGsrQ7sLGP

[John Seddon @JohnWSeddon]

We discuss what it will take to improve care systems (and save money).