A summary of the Art of Action for the Sydney Limited WIP Society. How to create aligned, autonomous action to achieve a collective goal.

1. Directed Opportunism
A Summary of the Art of Action for the
Sydney Limited WIP Society
Jason Yip
@jchyip
j.c.yip@computer.org
http://jchyip.blogspot.com

4. THE PROBLEM IS EXECUTION

5. Does your org have these problems?

6. “We know what we want to do but
we are unable to do it.”

7. “We have many things happening
but we’re not sure if they’re the right
things.”

8. “We’ve done many things but we’re
not sure that they’re effective.”

9. THE CAUSE IS ORGANISATIONAL
FRICTION

10. “The very business of getting an organisation
made up of individuals, no matter how
disciplined, to pursue a collective goal produces
friction just as surely as applying the brakes of a
car.” -- Stephen Bungay

11. A lot of things cause friction

12. Friction creates gaps

13. Our plans are imperfect because we
lack knowledge
OutcomePlan
What we actually know What we’d like to know
Knowledge Gap

14. Our actions don’t match our plans
because it’s so difficult to align
everyone who needs to act
PlanAction
What people actually do What we want people
to do
Alignment Gap

15. The effects of our actions may not
be what we want because the
environment is non-linear and
unpredictable
OutcomeAction
What we actually achieve What we hope to achieve
Effects Gap

16. THE SOLUTION IS DIRECTED
OPPORTUNISM

17. The usual (and wrong) response

18. Specifying too much detail
creates confusion when the
situation demands one thing while
the instructions say another

19. The right response

20. In plain English...
1. Decide what really matters
2. Get the message across
3. Give people space and support

21. STRATEGY AS INTENT TO ADDRESS
THE KNOWLEDGE GAP

22. “Rather than a plan, a strategy is a
framework for decision making. It is an
original choice about direction, which
enables subsequent choices about
action.”
Stephen Bungay

23. “A strategy enables people to reflect on
activity and provides rationale for deciding
what to do next.”
Stephen Bungay

24. Good strategy is realistic and
coherent

25. Strategy versus leadership
Leadership is a moral activity involving
relating to people and generating emotional
commitment
Strategy is an intellectual activity involving
discerning facts and applying rationality

26. “Even if our destination is unclear, we need
some sense of the end-state to be achieved
which gives our current actions a
purpose…even if the current situation is
volatile, we need to decide what to do next
in order to get into a better position than we
are in the present.”
Stephen Bungay

27. Strategy is not “what are the
components of the problem?” but
“what is the core of the problem?”

28. BRIEFING AND BACK-BRIEFING TO
ADDRESS THE ALIGNMENT GAP

29. The purpose of briefing is to enable
people to act independently

30. Instructions should contain all, but
also only, what people cannot
determine for themselves to achieve
a particular purpose

31. As long as higher intention is made
clear, individual initiative can be
relied on to adjust actions according
to the situation

32. The more alignment you have, the
more autonomy you can grant

33. Intent vs Autonomy
Express intent in terms of what to achieve
and why
Grant autonomy in terms of what to do and
how to realise the intent

34. Elements of a briefing
1. An account of the situation
2. A short statement of overall intent
3. Extrapolation of specific tasks implied by
the intent
4. Any further guidance about boundaries

35. 1. Account of the situation
Essential features of the situation which are
relevant to the action to be taken
● State of knowledge: what is known, what is
probable but uncertain, what is unknown
but could be relevant
● What are the implications for what the
organisation has to do
● End-state, if this is distant

36. 2. Short statement of overall intent
What we need to achieve now and why. The
main effort.
The Spice Girls directive...

37. “So tell me what you want, what you
really, really want”

38. 3. Extrapolation of specific tasks
implied by the intent
Responsibilities, themes, and priorities for the
next level of the organisation.

39. 4. Any further guidance about
boundaries
● Constraints
● Future decisions to be taken
● Anti-goals (“whatever you do, don’t allow
this to happen”)

40. Translating intent

41. FREEDOM TO ADJUST ACTION TO
ADDRESS THE EFFECTS GAP

42. Freedom of action in organisations
is mostly determined by structure
and policy

43. Structure only works if it
encompasses appropriate decision
rights and responsibilities

44. Can the person or group with the
best knowledge and expertise in any
given area act in a timely manner
without asking for permission?

45. Specifying boundaries is like marking out a
minefield. If mines are known or rumoured to
exist but are unmarked, people will not advance.

46. When boundaries are unclear most
people will not explore, but rather
keep their head down and play it
safe. Stepping over invisible
boundaries invites punishment.

47. “...people’s convictions tend to
correlate with their interests. Their
interests are largely determined by
the structure and the compensation
system.”
Stephen Bungay

48. “The more objectives someone has,
the harder it is for them to focus on
what really matters and the more
their freedom of action is
constrained.”
Stephen Bungay

49. “Dispensing money and medals is
part of corporate body language. It
reveals what is really valued,
whatever people say.”
Stephen Bungay

50. The ultimate judgement of
performance should be about the
fulfillment of intent

51. SUMMARY

52. Summary
● We are finite beings with limited knowledge
and independent wills
● The business environment is unpredictable
and uncertain, so we should expect the
unexpected and should not plan beyond
circumstances we can foresee

53. Summary (cont.)
● Within the constraints of our limited
knowledge we should strive to identify the
essentials of a situation and make choices
about what it is most important to achieve
● To allow people to take effective action, we
must make sure they understand what they
are to achieve and why

54. Summary (cont.)
● Everyone must have the skills and resources
to do what is needed and the space to take
independent decisions and actions when
the unexpected occurs, as it will
● As the situation changes, everyone should
be expected to adapt their actions
according to their best judgment in order to
achieve the intended outcomes

55. Summary (cont.)
● People will only show the level of initiative
required if they believe the organisation will
support them

56. Directed Opportunism

58. Images
● https://flic.kr/p/6ZwuPm
● https://flic.kr/p/m4tfVT
● https://flic.kr/p/4jkjyF
● https://flic.kr/p/bD7Rn