Signed, long-form essays. The Architect’s Essays read the structure underneath; the Executive Essays turn it into checks to run before the next decision.
Architect’s Essays
Architect’s Essay · 8 minThe Measure on the WallThree valleys, three ells, honest merchants on every side. Why more information does not end a misunderstanding.Read the essay →
Architect’s Essay · 8 minTwo Halves of a BridgeTwo crews, two drawings, good stone on both sides — and open water in the middle. Why people who talk all day still do not reach each other.Read the essay →
Architect’s Essay · 8 minA Better KeyThe key was cut from a template, for a door barred from the inside. Why trained people still cannot use what they were taught.Read the essay →
Architect’s Essay · 7 minYou Are Spending the PrincipalThe best-looking quarter is the tell. Systems fail when they have spent the reserve that absorbs an ordinary load, and booked the spending as strength.Read the essay →
Architect’s Essay · 7 minThe Town Hall That Was CanceledA meeting canceled so that nothing would be said, and four thousand people filling the silence. Why an organization cannot stay silent.Read the essay →
Executive Essays
Executive Essay · 9 minWhat the Training Returns ToMost organizations know what they spent on developing their people. Very few know what happened to it. Why capability does not survive re-entry, and how to audit the conditions first.Read the essay →
Executive Essay · 8 minWho Has to Cross the DistanceThe executive waits for the company to offer; the company waits to be asked. Why help and support stall when each side expects the other to move first.Read the essay →
Executive Essay · 8 minBefore You Agree on the WordThree words agreed at an offsite, read three ways six months later. What undefined terms cost, with four checks to run before the next decision.Read the essay →
Executive Essay · 9 minBefore You Call It CommunicationThe most readily accepted sentence in organizational life. What the word is covering, with four checks to run before the next program.Read the essay →
Executive Essay · 10 minWhat Is Still There on MondayMost of what an organization believes it owns, it is renting. What survives when the people change, and how to audit it.Read the essay →